Senior Eduardo Kingston realized a piece of him was missing when he was not playing soccer. Although he plays water polo, he decided to jump on an opportunity. Kingston and his three friends joined together to create a team that shares both their love of soccer and giving back to the community.
“The team means everything to me. It’s my passion and the reason I survive,” Kingston said.
Cuervos FC was founded in 2020 and has grown since. The four founders, seniors Carlos Garcia, Sebastian Ulloa, Felix Montesano and Kingston, recruited their friends and fellow students to be a part of the team. The team currently has several players and a CEO. Everyone who plays on the team is a student who shares a love of soccer.
“The team has great bonds and we’re all pretty close. It’s a really fun experience whenever we have a game,” senior Gero Stier.
The team took off after local business, Ben’s Pizza, agreed to sponsor their jerseys in return for lessons for the owner’s grandchild. This sparked an idea for the team and allowed them to create “Cuervitos,” a soccer academy for young children.
“The soccer academy will be both for the parents wanting to get the kids out of the house and the kids who want to play and to exercise,” said Ulloa. “But we were thinking about offering an after school service to underserved schools in the area. The project is expected to begin in September.”
In addition to service projects, the team will also host fundraisers throughout the school year.
“We decided to create a tournament where people come up with a team of like six to compete. We’re gonna probably ask them to pay an entrance fee and then the profits will go to a charity, “ Kingston said.
In the past Cuervos FC has found games through an app called Plei. According to the Plei website, the program allows teams to find matches and fields to play in as quickly as ordering online.
This year Cuervos FC joined a league called On the Pitch League in Miami , where they will compete against other teams with ages ranging from high schoolers to adults.
“Felix found it on Instagram, and then we decided to sign up for it,” said Kingston. “In the league there are 10 games, one game a week, and it’s going to be a great experience.”
Cuervos FC has grown as a soccer team and as a community.
