Today was a day of adjustments.
Heavy rains moved back into the area overnight making for a great night's sleep but also closing the training fields for much of the morning. The Gimnasia staff was once again great. They typically do not work on the weekend and yet 4 full-time staff coaches – Favio, Napolitano, Christian and Ariel – took the time to work with our players and provide a great 2-hour session on an area outside the first team's training pitch.
The full-time "trainer" is responsible for the warm-up and cool down, including some basic technical work combined with both dynamic and static stretching. The head coach is responsible for all the technical and tactical training with his assistant coach and they facilitate the bulk of the training. The goalkeeper coach was not available today, but the youth director – “Pata” – was at training to oversee the session and provide feedback to the staff and players.
The activities are very similar to what our players are used to. The main difference is the environment. The youth players in the professional system of Argentina all aim to become professionals. Those that make it can pull their family from real poverty and therefore that level of passion and desire is something we simply don't have in the U.S. Most of our players don't expect to make it as professionals, the youth of Argentina think of nothing else.
After lunch we boarded the buses to Buenos Aires to attend the match at Independiente. Upon arrival we learned the team had provided us the wrong tickets for the match and the decision was made not to attend. Our guides – Sergio and “Nacho” are serious about providing us the best possible experience and the safety of our players is their clear priority. Even with yesterday's experience at the Gimnasia match we were never in danger and never feared for our safety. Because of the section our seats were incorrectly placed by Independiente, the proper decision was made not to attend.
Instead, we went to La Boca and the Gaminito in Buenos Aries. The kids even found a 5v5 match against local kids on a concrete futsal court and had an awesome time. We walked the few blocks to Boca Juniors stadium before returning back to Gimnasia for dinner.
