My

Story

Jarbi

“I am from Barbosa in Colombia. I grew up with two younger sisters and two younger brothers. Growing up drugs were a constant challenge in my family as well as in my circle of friends. But I was lucky for having a dream – becoming a professional football player. Unfortunately, an eye injury forced me to step away from the playing side of football and find an alternative way to live my passion of professional football. At that point, I made the decision to become a professional referee. This was, however, not without its challenges. People were doubting my abilities and kept telling me that I can’t do it – due to my eye injury. I was determined to prove them wrong! I worked twice as hard as any other person and in the end I did it – I became a professional referee. However, when I got to referee the games in higher leagues, I struggled because of my eye. This led me to coaching and I established my own team. I want to be able to give the children in my community the opportunity to have the same dream as I used to have, to be a professional football player, but most importantly, I want them to be nice people who have good values.

Unfortunately, drugs are a challenge in my town. I don’t want the situation in the town repeating itself with the children I coach. For this reason, I decided to join Fundación Colombianitos and take part in the FCSA’s Young Coach Education to learn more things to try and help my community, my town and of course my children. The things that you [the FCSA] taught me, helped me with my coaching and as a result my community. Another important point of the Young Coach Education is the possibility to share experiences and challenges with other likeminded people. We not only learn the technical part of coaching football but also the soft skills in teaching.

This makes it possible for us Young Coaches to create activities that benefit our children. Through our activities, children experience a daily routine and they learn values that help them navigate in society. Whenever I meet any of my former students, they are very thankful. They share their successes and how their life has been positively influenced by their participation in my activities.”