Taking the Next Step: Gilberto Garcia

The first time I met Gilberto, he was playing for the UPSL’s FC Grande, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As a supporter of the club, I could see his talent, that was obvious, but, more than anything, it was his passion that shone every match he played. Even the matches he didn’t play, he was always on the bench, trying to catch the coach’s eye to get into the match. And after the matches, he always made a point to talk to the fans and supporters. This season he played with San Antonio Runners, but has been working hard on landing an international spot. He’s a bright talent with a story, and, with a big move to Spain happening this month, we’re letting him tell it.

- Dan

What’s your backstory?

My name is Gilberto Garcia, I’m 22 years old and I was born in El Paso, Texas but I spent the first few years of my life in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico(where my family is from). I picked up soccer when I was 4 years old, I played for a local club in Juarez and fell in love with the sport, I just wanted to be like my older brothers who also played. I’m grateful my father was such a big fan of the sport, who also played his whole life but never had the support that I’ve had.

Can you describe your playing style, preferred position, players you model yourself after?

I would say my playing style has evolved throughout the years, I must admit I hit a stump in my career while in high school. I stopped taking it serious after I got a knee injury my junior season, as I was coming off winning a district championship and being the youngest on my varsity team. So in high school I would rely heavily on just speed then it evolved once I got to college, becoming more of a finishing player. I modeled my game after Luis Suarez, Lewandowski, you know all the great strikers. Once I got into the semi pro scene, I kept my striker mentality and also started becoming a better passer. I feel like I’ve now turned more into a playmaker but can still finish the play when needed. I started watching players like Isco & Neymar. So all in all, I like playing striker and CAM. 

The UPSL’s Southwestern foes, like Sporting AZ FC, helped Garcia to be ready for his move to Spain.

The UPSL’s Southwestern foes, like Sporting AZ FC, helped Garcia to be ready for his move to Spain.

You’re a veteran of the lower league scene in the US, where have you played and what was the experience like?

I’ve been in the trenches of the lower leagues in the US since summer of 18’ after I decided college wasn’t really getting me noticed. It’s definitely been a learning experience as you sometimes play against grown men so it gives you that Sunday league rawness. I’m grateful for the expansion of all these leagues as it made players like myself have more opportunities to get themselves out there. I’ve been at it for 3 seasons now, having my debut with FC Grande in Las Cruces, New Mexico. You’d be surprised how much local talent there is near the border, I then switched teams to the San Antonio Runners, in San Antonio, Texas to be closer to my sports agent Dr. Mario Sanchez. We had been cooking up the idea of playing in Spain for a few months so it was a good move. 

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Where are you headed next?

I am now headed to Alicante, Spain to play for Santa Pola CF. 

How did you attract international attention?

As I mentioned, I linked up with my agent through one of my high school teammates who also went to Spain. I just messaged him one day and asked how he got noticed. I went to San Antonio in July of 2019 and conveniently the coach was in town visiting my agent so we met up and discussed the possibility of me going overseas and it took of from there. 

What’s your goal for your first season in Spain?

My goal for my first season in Spain is to develop into a lethal striker, and honestly work on my all around game. 

Any particular advantage of Spain versus another country?

I feel Spain has one of the most competitive leagues in the world being La Liga, so being in that country will turn me into a better player and hopefully I can climb up the ladder and make it onto a higher league team. The sky is the limit at this point so God Willing things will go well. 

What are the biggest problems facing players in the states?

I believe the biggest problem in the US is that we don’t have the same system they have in Europe, where they play year round in professional  academies. In the states, you have to fight to earn a scholarship and play college ball. In my opinion, it’s not the best route as you’re only in season about 3 months, and honestly Soccer isn’t viewed the same in the US as it comes second to American Football and Basketball. 

Gilberto played the 2019 Fall season with the UPSL’s SA Runners.

Gilberto played the 2019 Fall season with the UPSL’s SA Runners.

Do you see yourself as a success story yet?

I like to think of myself as a success story in the making, I was a young kid when tragedy struck my family. We hit rock bottom and I have had to climb myself out of it for the past 5 years. Having to work full time jobs and still having to go to training an hour away then coming home to family issues can be draining on a young adult, but I know the most successful people come from struggle so I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder. So this is only the beginning of my story, I want kids younger than me to have somebody they can relate to and to know that no matter what life throws at you there’s still a way out. 

What are your long term goals?

My long term goals are to make it to the big leagues, I know this career path isn’t forever but if I can get a good 10-15 years doing this then I’m happy. I just want to make my momma proud, my dad is the reason I got into the sport and my mom is the reason I never gave up. I want my brothers to live through me. 

Hey UPSL, Ban Back to Backs

Sometimes when I write an article, I’m picking up thoughts and ideas from the twitter universe and knocking it into something that functions as an article. Sometimes, I draw from current events, maybe a big news story, something that if we ignored, we’d lose readers. But there’s another route to inspiration that is much closer to home. Sometimes, while sitting in the bleachers on some high school field, watching a club I either love or am interested in, I am struck with an idea that bounces around for a while until eventually I have to sit down and knock it out.

Notice most of the FCG fans move away from the strange group of men at this end.

Notice most of the FCG fans move away from the strange group of men at this end.

I’m a big fan and outspoken supporter of the Las Cruces New Mexico’s UPSL club, FC Grande. While I live in El Paso, I fell in love with the tiny club that formed two years ago in the small town about 45 minutes across the border into New Mexico. I made friends with the owner as he went through the process of planning and developing his idea. I’m proud to say I was at the first tryouts for the club and watched 60 young men on a dusty Las Cruces field push themselves for the chance to play for an amateur soccer side.

The first season I was at every match with a small band of supporters. We popped smoke, waved flags, yelled a lot. It was beautiful. We were drawing close to 250 fans a night that season. The local community was supporting the team and the team played well. We ended the season losing in the conference final to the juggernaut that is Sporting AZ FC, but the future seemed bright.

This season, we kicked off with a roster that added a lot of fresh talent and a new coach to lead the team. Everything felt positive. The schedule was delayed by the addition/exit of some clubs, but eventually things came together and we got the list of match dates. And here’s the rub.

While our conference is spread out, thanks to the inclusion of two clubs in Phoenix (a six-hour drive from Las Cruces) most of the clubs are clustered around the El Paso/Las Cruces area. So why our schedule included so many back to back matches, I do not understand. When I say back to back, I literally mean, one day to the next. FC Grande played matches (within two days) on 5/4 and 5/5, 5/17 and 5/19, 5/25 and 5/26, 6/14 and 6/15. That’s three times that they played matches on back to back days, sometimes with less than 18 hours between the matches. I understand that there is always logic behind the creation of schedule, but this logic is flawed as hell.

FC Grande in action against Southwest FC last weekend.

FC Grande in action against Southwest FC last weekend.

I think it’s safe to assume that scheduling comes down to several factors: 1. Field availability 2. Travel cost 3. Club coordination. There could be more, of course, but I’m applying a common sense approach to this. With a six hour drive between Las Cruces and Phoenix, I can understand the desire to schedule the matches in bunches to save money. But how does that explain the matches between Southwest FC and Las Cruces, which account for one of those long weekends?

I asked Matt Kahla, National Director of the UPSL, about how UPSL schedules are created. “The league sits down and talks with conference managers and the scheduling committee and from there we work backwards for National Champion, down to Semis, divisional playoffs, regular season.” With the delay of a club dropping out just before the release of the schedule, I can understand how the deadline of the National Playoffs could squeeze the conference calendar, but beyond that deadline, the league passes most of the responsibility to the conference itself. “The guidelines are pretty basic, teams are required to figure out their home dates and then the conference manager takes charge.” And the results aren’t always pretty, as this season proves.

While I listed some obvious factors in schedule making earlier, let’s add the UPSL’s playoff schedule as a fourth factor. Before I go on, I want to say those are all legitimate things to take into account. Budgets at this level are basically nil, so a trip to Phoenix with 20 people, hotels, food, gas, that’s a lot of money to spend. But there are other factors to consider as well.

  1. Player Safety - While clubs can carry two squads, the more likely scenario is twenty players, with a decided drop off in the last five. Playing back to back matches for any player is a tough load and players without adequate rest are more injury prone. The UPSL is a training league, a chance for players to improve and move up, getting a serious injury could set them back a year or, in extreme situations, end a career. The cost to that player outweighs any financial savings for the clubs.

  2. Fan Interest - I’m aware there are clubs that do not seem to care that no one is in their stands. I’ve been to some away matches where twenty people showed up and the team seemed to have accepted this as normal. However, if you’re trying to build a club with connections to the community, that is a destination for fans on a Saturday night, that becomes a fun place for families to attend, you CANNOT schedule back to back matches. People won’t sacrifice a weekend for a soccer team, particularly not families with children. FC Grande attendance has dropped by half because people won’t do two nights in a row - and why should they?

  3. Player Performance - Tired players don’t play as well - they make mistakes, they make clumsy tackles, they lose their balance. It’s simply not fun for a player recovering from the night before to have to lace up and go back to the field the next night. These are amateurs and the league, its clubs, and its conference managers should be prioritizing their development.

The author, pissing off some poor kid on the field.

The author, pissing off some poor kid on the field.

For the record, Matt did say that league officials “hate when we have back to backs.” So here’s a solution, ban them. Make a mandatory 48 hours break between matches, with a caveat for weather or natural disaster. Let’s do what’s right for the players, the fans, and the level of play. Let’s continue to make a league that focuses on the well being of all involved and not only focuses on the bottom line.

And one other idea that was pitched to me by Joshua Duder when he read the piece. Why don’t the bigger national leagues, the UPSL and NPSL, attempt to negotiate discounts with hotel chains? Having a discount for your member clubs would be a massive win for traveling matches. For the hotel chains, there would be guaranteed room rentals, though discounted, and for the clubs it would allow them more flexibility around scheduling and make the costs of travel more reasonable.

I’m a fan, this is what I think.