Milagro Hernandez, a second-year biology major at Miami Dade College, has played soccer since she was nine years old. Her passion for the sport was ignited after the death of her father when she was a child.
“I suffered from depression,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez’s mother sought to get Milagro into an activity to cope with the loss. She instantly fell in love with the sport.
Soccer became her driving force until her junior year of high school, when she sustained a major ankle injury during a game. After the injury, Hernandez took a break from soccer and focused on her studies.
Four years later, Hernandez—looking for something positive to do with her free time— started a soccer club at North Campus.
The club has an adviser, Amnel Molina, a philosophy professor at North Campus.
“[The Director of Student Life] recommended that I speak to him and ask for his guidance since he sponsors soccer events and other sports events on campus a few times a year,” Hernandez said.
Molina has counseled Hernandez on ways to grow the club.
“My friends thought this club would be a joke, but as it turns out, we got some people who are taking it very seriously,” said Kemson Decoste, who serves as vice president of the club.
On Oct. 21, the team held its first official practice. They hosted 25 people at the next to building 9000 at North Campus. Practices are held every Friday from noon to 3 p.m. at that location.
Practices are spearheaded by two coaches, Alessandra Pacheco and Jada Cooper, who go over drills and exercises that work on running, passing and shooting. According to Hernandez, she wants to make intra-squad scrimmages a bi-weekly thing for the club.
To join the club, the only requirement is a $20 registration fee that goes toward uniforms and equipment. Hernandez aspires to one day play scrimmages against clubs from other MDC campuses.
For information on the Soccer Club at North Campus, contact them on their Sharknet page at https://sharknet.mdc.edu/organization/TheSoccerAssociation.
