Ajijic soccer - A new season kicks off!

A new season of Union Ajijic football starts this coming Sunday (24th). There are games for the young ones at 2pm and the big lads at 4pm. Both games will be at the lower field (empastado). For those who haven't been, it is a wonderful chance to watch some great football and join in with a very colorful and enthusiastic crowd. Ten pesos will get you an afternoon of fun. Beer and snacks are available. Bring a cushion if Ajijic concrete isn't soft enough for you. The field is at the bottom of Revolucion where it meets Constitucion (where the tiangus starts). The road's torn up but that just adds to the adventure.
If you can make it and can afford it, can you bring a soccer ball to the game? The one's from Walmart last about two weeks, but there is a sports shop in the mall (Centro Laguna - is that the official name?) opposite Walmart and they sell decent quality balls. It is next to the "food court". If you want a photo presenting the ball to the players, let me know (ask for Phil).
The kids did great last year. They reached the final (but lost) in this same league. Perhaps this year we will go all the way. Support slowly grew during the season and there was over 1500 people at the final game. Quite an atmosphere.
Whatever happens this is a great program for the kids and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy an afternoon with the locals. Many have told me they love to see the gringos at the game supporting the kids and the community.
If you have any questions, ask in this thread or PM me.
Vamos Union

Phil

Phil I was moto riding last Sunday but will try and catch up with you this Sunday with the promised donation.

Thanks for keeping us posted on the soccer!

A local person also sells soccer balls....help the local economy not wallmart.......felipe angeles and colon . 1 block north of carretera...they also repair bikes there.

gvprod wrote:A local person also sells soccer balls....help the local economy not wallmart.......felipe angeles and colon . 1 block north of carretera...they also repair bikes there.

We have bought balls from him before. If you are going there, ask for Azteca number 5 balls.
I believe I paid 150 pesos    

About right Zen.
That is where I buy the balls (1 or 2) locally as he does have the Aztecas (quality).
Now, when a larger purchase is made, you have to consider price and savings, i.e. Guad., as the program has budget constraints and is funded in part by donations.

Bought 2 this morning for 275 pesos.

I had hoped to pick up some balls in Guad on Friday on my way back from the zoo - but when we passed the Obregon area, there was swarms of police and streets blocked with cop cars.  It's normally chaos, but this was nuts - so I wasn't able to stop and buy.  Took me over 3 hours to return from the zoo.  Rafa told me the price difference is in Guad you can buy 3 for the price of 4 locally.  So considering gas and parking, you have to go with a bulk purchase in mind.  So the local guy sounds like a good bet and it is always better keeping the money in local businesses (but not Walmart).
And Azteca size 5 is the preferred ball.  If you are bringing the ball, use a marker to write Union Ajijic on it and why not sign it?

Windrider - just seen your post..did you buy the balls from the local guy with the bike shop? Does he sell the Azteca balls?

Union Ajijic vs Atlas San Lorenzo,  Sunday 2pm (ponies) 4pm (grandes)
A couple of our players are injured (Chuki and Ricardo) but we have a new (actually returning) player called Segura who is a great addition.  We lost our goalie (Jairo) to Charales, and Chuki's brother Bigotes, is our new goalie.  Chuki's younger brother 'Pollo' (I don't know any of their real names) plays with the Ponies.  I watched them in a practice game last night and they were looking sharp.  It should be a good game.

I will bring a marker to the game on Saturday. It is good to have the balls identified. Some kids can be, er, opportunists. I don't have any great problem with kids "borrowing" them to play on the streets, but Union needs the balls for practice and I heard one time from Augustin (Viva Mexico's owner and probably the most community oriented person I have known) that some kids will take them to sell. Not that writing on a ball is any guarantee against this, but every bit helps.

I bought them from the local guy east of Colon at the bike shop. One block North of the Caretera. Azteca #5 and he had 8 to 10 more.

Should I get the balls there before the 1st game?

Just looking at your last two posts Phil....is it Saturday or Sunday?

you can either deliver them to practice (6pm upper field) or at the game.  I can meet you there on Friday if you like.

As always! My apologies. THE GAME IS SUNDAY

Nice win for the opener, younger group won by 5 goals (5-0), older group won by 3, also a shutout. Improved passing and ball control very noticeable among the older team.

Good turnout from our local folks as well!

Sorry had a concert at the Indian Resturant I wanted to see. Back next time. Glad to hear the folks won!

Zed

Do we have a time and location for the coming Sunday game yet?

I'd also like to renew my suggestion and request for a pinned Ajijic Union Soccer Schedule And News Thread here to make it easy for us to find out as far in advance as available the where and when of the games.

What I saw on Sunday makes me feel optimistic that we could be looking at another great season, maybe this time ending in winning the league. Our coaches have really been working on the fundamentals and it shows.

I also found out that Chuki will return once his leg gets better. That's exactly the goal-attacking aggression that will round this team out.

Thanks!

Do we have a time and place for this week's game?

Do we have a game tomorrow? Where and when??

Thanks.

Well?


BUMP

My apologies for the lack of information this week. I consistently was getting two different dates and times for the games. In the end, we played at Tonala yesterday, where the 5th division team (Ponies) won 9-4. And the 4th division team (the big kids) won 5-2.
I found out last night that there has been some confusion over the registration and eligibility of some players due to age. We may have lost some kids we thought were eligible. Not sure how this happened. Again I have been told two versions. One is that age eligibility is based solely on birth year. The second is that it has something to do with age at the start of the new school year. The ineligible players did not play yesterday, so it appears that we still have a strong core.
I will try and get news on next weeks games clarified and published early. Part of the problem, I believe, is that the league tells two clubs that they must play each other on a particular weekend at a specific venue, and then the individual clubs negotiate Saturday or Sunday and the times (usually based on distance and travel time). Sometimes, my lack of being able to get a definitive date and time is due to these negotiations going on until the last minute.

Appreciate your efforts Tru Bril and happy to hear that our guys racked up some more wins.

Thanks for trying!

Z

Lots of news about the soccer teams...

FIRST - the next game : Sunday (7th) at the lower field. The younger ones are playing at 2pm and the big kids at 4pm. We are playing Los Charales de Chapala, so it should be a lively crowd with lots of visitors. I have only seen friendly rivalry in the past. Great atmosphere. The younger ones now play in the InsideLakeside uniform.
Regarding the eligibility confusion, I have just found out that we have 10 ineligible players who are too old to play with the big kids. The plan is to start a third team - which is good, 'cos there is more opportunity for more kids to play, but is bad news in that they have to incur the costs of a third team. They are looking to be in the same division, but in the higher age group (3rd division). Each division has its own age range which overlaps.

TrueBrit wrote:Lots of news about the soccer teams...

FIRST - the next game :  Sunday (7th) at the lower field.  The younger ones are playing at 2pm and the big kids at 4pm.  We are playing Los Charales de Chapala, so it should be a lively crowd with lots of visitors.  I have only seen friendly rivalry in the past.  Great atmosphere.  The younger ones now play in the InsideLakeside uniform.
Regarding the eligibility confusion, I have just found out that we have 10 ineligible players who are too old to play with the big kids.  The plan is to start a third team - which is good, 'cos there is more opportunity for more kids to play, but is bad news in that they have to incur the costs of a third team.  They are looking to be in the same division, but in the higher age group (3rd division).  Each division has its own age range which overlaps.

Phil,  will their be games the 20th/21st?    Really want to see the boys play!