Notes from Abroad: The Soccer Lesson Which was Really About Life

First published on JCNet.br, July 12

“He is a new student and has a hand disability. He will train normally with all of us. If I hear anyone making fun or any joke, they will be expelled from the school on the spot. It doesn't matter if they pay tuition or not."

That was the first sentence my children heard from Professor Cristiano Marcos Medeiros at the Craques do Futuro school. We spent holidays in Bauru and I wanted my children to practice sports. But in recent weeks they have learned much more than soccer from this teacher.

The school has approximately 40 children who train daily and Cristiano teaches alone. He demands total discipline and respect among the children. They are always ready at the start of training and help him carry all the materials to the field. On Mondays he offers physical conditioning training and the class is much more demanding. On Tuesday I heard him tell the boys who were absent "Football now is 70% physical conditioning, if you miss on Monday it's not even worth coming in cleats because you won't play."

I spoke with several families who have been training with Cristiano for a long time and the stories are very similar. One mother told me: "At first I thought he was too strict with the children, then my son started causing trouble at home and I mentioned it to Cristiano. He told my son: 'If your behavior at home does not improve, you do not need to train here anymore.' My son never caused trouble again and I started to like Cristiano."

My son is 6 years old and is one of the youngest in the group. In the first week, there was an exercise where the students who lost would have to run around the field. I thought Cristiano wouldn't make my little one pay - he is the youngest and doesn't play much. But he lost and had to pay. Not only that, but when my son and another student were walking Cristiano shouted "You are paying and it's to run, speed!" My older son commented: "In other classes, teachers would say you can have another chance next class. But here he makes you pay every day."

Discipline also comes with a great commitment to the students. Cristiano offers scholarships to students who cannot pay and has already helped more than 15 children enter professional clubs.

The school does not have great infrastructure and clearly needs renovations, but my children learned valuable lessons about being part of a team and giving 100% every day in what you do. Bauru is lucky to have Cristiano as a reference and example for families who want to teach much more than soccer.