Delivering Good Vibes Off of the Pitch
On the pitch, you might catch seniors Cesar Bahena and Samy Kanaan delivering pinpoint passes and picking up their teammates.
This week, as they prepared to kickoff their season, the Men’s Soccer team was delivering words of encouragement to their classmates across campus.
It started as a team building exercise. Local youth teams came by to fill the Toreros in on a growing trend at soccer tournaments – clipping unsuspecting passersby with clothespins adorned with motivational phrases.
So, coaches sat players down at tables littered with beads, sequins and more. Limited only by their imaginations, players got to work on their project.
“It was great to get off the field and get some arts and crafts going, and share the room with the community and really spread kindness with the community,” said Kanaan. “And kind of get ourselves uncomfortable because not many of us are really that good at arts and crafts. We’re better on the field, honestly.”
The activity was framed as a competition, with the winners promised a Chik-Fil-A lunch. Torero coaches know how to motivate their team. Ultimate competitors on the field, having something to fight for here got the creative juices flowing.
Players decorated pins in San Diego style. One had tiny sunglasses glued on and was painted with waves. Another player designed theirs to look like a shark whose mouth would open in close as you pinched the clothespin.
“It was cool because we take a lot of things very seriously here when it comes to playing,” Bahena said of the activity. “So it was a good way to take ourselves away from that, and just kind of have fun for ourselves”
Players didn’t lose sight of the goal, which was to lift up whoever gets pinned. The designs were paired with compliments and sayings like “Be Strong,” “UR Awesome,” and “Spread Aloha.” The pins, they hoped, would be a bright spot in someone’s day.
After a short conference, the coaches picked a few of their favorites. The team cheered and had some laughs, and then moved onto the next phase of the project – delivering the pins. This might have been even more fun.
After practice, players split into small groups, clothespins in hand, and canvased USD’s campus. As they worked their way from the Immaculata to the library, the players spotted fellow students and pinned them with a pick-me-up, sparking up conversations and smiles along the way.
“Hopefully at some point throughout the day, they find it and they read the message and it cheers them up a little bit,” Kanaan said.
The whole endeavor helped lighten the mood before the start of the season and brought the players closer together. On top of that, they got to connect with their peers. Now, students can return the favor, cheering on the Toreros as they take the field and look to build on their big season last year.