The Argentine football association (AFA) & the Mexico tryout

The first encounter with Jose Almaraz was in 2021 at Silverbacks Park.  I was captaining team Egypt to raise funds for the Soccer in the Streets.  Jose was supervising the Argentine Football Association (AFA) Saturday league.  During our chat Jose mentioned that he is on staff with the full national team, and would be travelling to London for friendlies to prepare for the 2022 World Cup.  Fast forward to 2025 and we meet again by chance at Silverbacks Park where I agreed to help coach the youth league, to help prepare for the fall season.  On April 12th weekend, Jose networked with the Mexican Federation to host a youth tryout for boys and girls of Mexican nationality, with dreams of playing for their country.  Over 2 days the players were evaluated through games.  The Mexican national team coaches were scouting players, while the Argentina Academy Coaches were helping with check in and to prepare the players for the games.  

Throughout the 2 days I was assisting the Argentine delegation and serving as an ambassador to the Mexican staff, while always keeping an eye on Jose.  Staying close to Jose allowed me to learn as much as possible about how the event operates, his coaching style and the evaluation style of the Mexican national team staff.  The event consisted of 2 days of games, with the talent being refined for the 2nd day.  I was tasked with assisting the Mexican coaches to scout the players, highlighting any exceptional talent.

Male and female players traveled from across the country for this opportunity - including Kentucky, Texas, Florida and across Georgia.  All of  the local clubs were represented, with the club jerseys on proud display - Tophat, odp, IMG , etc.  The event was a success!  Top talent was identified, with the Mexican Federation coaches keeping their notes to themselves and updating identified talent with next steps.  My assignment was to improve the foot skills of a 13 year old girl named Ally, a local player from GSA.  We are training once a week and she is making great progress, as she is a very quick learner.

The experience of the Mexican tryout and coaching with the AFA Academy has provided great learning and growth.  The networking is priceless, and I am excited about upcoming travel to Buenos Aires to observe training at top clubs, the asados and of course, the Malbec from Mendoza.