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In some families, sports are simply a pastime, like flying kites or collecting stamps. In others, sports are a way of life. For Julio and Maximo Reyes, it runs through their DNA. Julio and Maximo were professional soccer players. So were their brothers Alberto and Daniel. Their father, Maximo Sr., was a member of the 1948 Peruvian Olympic track team in London, where he participated in the triple jump and the 100-m dash. The brothers began playing in their hometown of Lima, Peru, and have played all over the Americas and in Europe. And now they’re doing something that Pulaski County has never seen before: a real soccer academy—one that, if everything goes as planned, will eventually turn into a competitive club. “Nobody around here has run [a soccer training program] the way we want to do it,” Julio said. “And most kids have only played in rec leagues and that’s it. This is a good opportunity to teach kids in town the correct way to play.” Julio played in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in 1992, when he was a member of the A.F.C. Euro Kickers, a club from Panama City, Panama. He moved to New Jersey in 1994 to play for the New Jersey Imperials, a now-defunct club that was based in Paramus, N.J. He retired from playing in 2004 to coach permanently, first as an assistant for the New Jersey Stallions and then for the American Soccer Club of New Jersey. Older brother Maximo had a longer, nearly 20-year, international pro career that began at age 17. He played in Venezuela for most it, suiting up for five different clubs and participating in five Copas Libertadores, the championship tournament for the top club teams in South America. During this time, he also played for Peru’s national team—a high honor in South American countries. Maximo and Julio would tell you that all of their professional accomplishments don’t matter very much; they just want to teach the game correctly to area children. “We don’t necessarily want to have our names be the name of the club,” Julio said when discussing possible names for the as-of-yet-unnamed club. “People don’t really care about that kind of thing. “Sure, we’ve played professionally and stuff, but that doesn’t really matter when people see the name.” But don’t misunderstand: they know that their experience is an important part of teaching kids how to properly play the game. It’s just that people won’t necessarily see the name “Reyes” and know who they are. “Here in America, soccer isn’t as established [as in other parts of the world],” Julio said. “We’re just trying to teach them what we’ve learned.” Julio sees a fundamental disconnect in the way that American soccer players develop. “In Jersey, I met lots of kids who were good ballhandlers but couldn’t play the complete game,” he said. He thinks that’s because of the sports structure in the United States, which is based around school teams rather than club teams. “In Europe and South America, they have premiere clubs attached to professional teams where kids try out,” he said. “We can’t do that in America because there aren’t many pro teams and they focus on school.” The drawback of school teams, he said, is that they can only take players from a small geographic area and therefore the competition is not very good. The brothers want to make sure that their club encompasses a larger area so that they have a bigger talent pool; they plan on making it open to any player in Pulaski County. “The talent level for the kids is poor,” Maximo said. “They need real soccer coaches. It’s not the same thing when parents who don’t know much about the game volunteer.” The brothers acknowledge that they have an uphill battle, having to compete against other sports like football and basketball. Most kids know the basic rules and positions of those games, but not soccer. “I’ve found that lots of kids don’t even know their positions,” Maximo said. “They think that soccer is just ‘go and run around on the field.’ They don’t understand the strategy very well.” Julio and Maximo are both well equipped to teach the game. In addition to their pro careers, they’ve taken certification courses sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation—the sport’s governing body in the US. Julio has also completed a similar program for instructors with prestigious Spanish club Real Madrid. At one Wednesday-evening training session at Pulaski County Baptist Association in Waynesville, it was the younger 9-and-10-year-olds who took the makeshift indoor soccer field. With the younger age groups, the purpose is more to teach basics than it is to teach strategy, which takes up the bulk of the Wednesday practice. Julio and Maximo take a good hour running through juggling, dribbling and passing drills with about 20 children. When one of kids does something wrong, Julio will take them aside and show them exactly what they’re doing until they do it right. “We worry about these younger kids especially,” Julio said. “A good time to develop is six to eleven years old…so we need to make sure we teach them correctly.” At the end of practice, the younger kids do get a taste of game action, synthesizing the drills they just completed and integrating them into their games. They pick teams, each brother taking a side, and argue over what is and what is not a goal. But really, the kids seem to be doing most of the playing and arguing. “It’s one thing to be born a good player but usually we have to help them develop,” Julio said. “It takes years,” Maximo added. “But really, we just need kids to love soccer.”
In some families, sports are simply a pastime, like flying kites or collecting stamps. In others, sports are a way of life. For Julio and Maximo Reyes, it runs through their DNA. Julio and Maximo were professional soccer players. So were their brothers Alberto and Daniel. Their father, Maximo Sr., was a member of the 1948 Peruvian Olympic track team in London, where he participated in the triple jump and the 100-m dash. The brothers began playing in their hometown of Lima, Peru, and have played all over the Americas and in Europe. And now they’re doing something that Pulaski County has never seen before: a real soccer academy—one that, if everything goes as planned, will eventually turn into a competitive club. “Nobody around here has run [a soccer training program] the way we want to do it,” Julio said. “And most kids have only played in rec leagues and that’s it. This is a good opportunity to teach kids in town the correct way to play.” Julio played in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup in 1992, when he was a member of the A.F.C. Euro Kickers, a club from Panama City, Panama. He moved to New Jersey in 1994 to play for the New Jersey Imperials, a now-defunct club that was based in Paramus, N.J. He retired from playing in 2004 to coach permanently, first as an assistant for the New Jersey Stallions and then for the American Soccer Club of New Jersey. Older brother Maximo had a longer, nearly 20-year, international pro career that began at age 17. He played in Venezuela for most it, suiting up for five different clubs and participating in five Copas Libertadores, the championship tournament for the top club teams in South America. During this time, he also played for Peru’s national team—a high honor in South American countries. Maximo and Julio would tell you that all of their professional accomplishments don’t matter very much; they just want to teach the game correctly to area children. “We don’t necessarily want to have our names be the name of the club,” Julio said when discussing possible names for the as-of-yet-unnamed club. “People don’t really care about that kind of thing. “Sure, we’ve played professionally and stuff, but that doesn’t really matter when people see the name.” But don’t misunderstand: they know that their experience is an important part of teaching kids how to properly play the game. It’s just that people won’t necessarily see the name “Reyes” and know who they are. “Here in America, soccer isn’t as established [as in other parts of the world],” Julio said. “We’re just trying to teach them what we’ve learned.” Julio sees a fundamental disconnect in the way that American soccer players develop. “In Jersey, I met lots of kids who were good ballhandlers but couldn’t play the complete game,” he said. He thinks that’s because of the sports structure in the United States, which is based around school teams rather than club teams. “In Europe and South America, they have premiere clubs attached to professional teams where kids try out,” he said. “We can’t do that in America because there aren’t many pro teams and they focus on school.” The drawback of school teams, he said, is that they can only take players from a small geographic area and therefore the competition is not very good. The brothers want to make sure that their club encompasses a larger area so that they have a bigger talent pool; they plan on making it open to any player in Pulaski County. “The talent level for the kids is poor,” Maximo said. “They need real soccer coaches. It’s not the same thing when parents who don’t know much about the game volunteer.” The brothers acknowledge that they have an uphill battle, having to compete against other sports like football and basketball. Most kids know the basic rules and positions of those games, but not soccer. “I’ve found that lots of kids don’t even know their positions,” Maximo said. “They think that soccer is just ‘go and run around on the field.’ They don’t understand the strategy very well.” Julio and Maximo are both well equipped to teach the game. In addition to their pro careers, they’ve taken certification courses sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation—the sport’s governing body in the US. Julio has also completed a similar program for instructors with prestigious Spanish club Real Madrid. At one Wednesday-evening training session at Pulaski County Baptist Association in Waynesville, it was the younger 9-and-10-year-olds who took the makeshift indoor soccer field. With the younger age groups, the purpose is more to teach basics than it is to teach strategy, which takes up the bulk of the Wednesday practice. Julio and Maximo take a good hour running through juggling, dribbling and passing drills with about 20 children. When one of kids does something wrong, Julio will take them aside and show them exactly what they’re doing until they do it right. “We worry about these younger kids especially,” Julio said. “A good time to develop is six to eleven years old…so we need to make sure we teach them correctly.” At the end of practice, the younger kids do get a taste of game action, synthesizing the drills they just completed and integrating them into their games. They pick teams, each brother taking a side, and argue over what is and what is not a goal. But really, the kids seem to be doing most of the playing and arguing. “It’s one thing to be born a good player but usually we have to help them develop,” Julio said. “It takes years,” Maximo added. “But really, we just need kids to love soccer.”
