ANNA KING
Staff Writer
While living abroad in Italy, one of the most fiercely devoted countries to soccer in the world, a group of nine students from the Florence International Program has formed an Italian calcetto soccer team (soccer played on tennis-court sized fields), the first organized sports team overseas to represent Pepperdine.
Brought together for various reasons, either by high school team experience or general interest in the sport, the men came into the program hoping to make participation on a soccer team part of their international experience.
“Being in a country dominated by the game of soccer we wanted to see how we could compare against the world champions, and we have been successful,” sophomore team member Alexander Navarro said.
Most young Italians participate in calcetto from a very young age, and it is common for anyone of college age to play the game on a regular, competitive basis.
With the National team’s victory over the French team in the 2006 World Cup, the Italians have a great deal to be proud of. As a response, the students of the Florence programs have come to embrace this unique pride in the Italian culture in various ways, watching the World Cup last year as a group and attending games on group trips. The development of a soccer team follows the mania of soccer that has been developing throughout the world in the past couple years.
“For a lot of us, playing on a team is natural, and the fact that we live in a country that’s obsessed with soccer made creating a team that much easier,” team member Steven Torices said.
The director of the Florence program, Elizabeth Whatley, was one of the resources that the boys used in order to jumpstart their idea.
“Daniel Williams and Alexander Navarro came to me in the first week of school with the desire to play soccer with Italians while they were here in Italy,” Whatley said. “I told them they would have to be committed to play every week in order to rent fields and have teams to play against. Within the week they had six boys who were committed.”
Those original six boys have grown to a group of nine who play against a group of Italian players every week, and with a 1-1-2 record the team has been successful in their attempt to show the Italians that Americans can play soccer too.
“Our successes show our commitment, our work ethic and our determination to prove that we can contend with the best despite our country’s general lack of support for the sport,” sophomore team member Alexander Matranga said.
The team between classes and other responsibilities, usually at a park or public field near the Pepperdine house in Florence.
They have also asked sophomore Kelly Noland to act as their coach, and with the help of assistant coach and faculty family member Conner Willis, the coaching team helps with timing, substitutions and general team spirit.
“Being a part of the team has enabled me to form a unique bond with more people in the house, plus its fun to have an excuse to yell at the boys,” Noland said.
Whether playing on the team, coaching the team or cheering for the team, every student in the house has had a role in making this a cultural experience for everyone. Whitley said he was impressed that the team had the initiative and desire to start the team. “They have been able to keep their commitment as well as to get other students to voluntarily come to support them. It has become an entire group activity,” he said.
Each week a group of about 15 students travel by foot or bus 20 minutes to the calcetto field in order to cheer for the team and lend them their support.
Sophomore Brie Martin is one of the more devoted members of the cheering section.
“The soccer team gives us an activity to bond over, something for all of us as a house to rally together for during the week,” Martin said.
The group has a lot of plans for the team in the coming months. Next week, the team has a game scheduled to play against the team of the Florence students’ humanities professor, Leonardo Lastilla. For the team’s final game, the Florence program has arranged to have a bus take the entire house to the field to support the team. In addition, to show their devotion to the Florence Pepperdine soccer team, the students have chosen to get soccer jerseys that match the teams’ as their semester t-shirt, and they plan to wear them at the final game.
“The students are engaging in part of the Italian culture by participating on this team, and as a result the house has so much spirit in supporting those students that it brings everyone together,” Whatley said.
The team will ultimately be the ones to take the most away from the experience of playing on an Italian soccer team.
“The biggest reward is the fact that we have made Italian friends that we will continue to keep in touch with who we hang out with on and off the field,” Williams said.
“We are exchanging each others’ cultures and languages in a way that we all love.”
02-22-2007