I have played soccer for almost as long as I can remember, and I have been on three different teams. But for the longest time, there has been one team that has stood out to me like no other has: MCFF “A”.

MCFF stands for Madrid Club de Futbol Femenino, which translates to Madrid Female Football Club. I was in this club for three years. This club’s goal is to encourage more girls to join soccer, and be part of this great sport, while at the same time making girls feel good about their skills and about the place they are at. 

I started in the beginners team, “C” but I climbed up to “A” in the span of one year. For the rest of my time in the club, I was on the best soccer team I have ever been on, both position-wise, and teammates and coaches-wise. Coaches, David and Raul, taught me things that helped me grow in my soccer career, things that I carry to this day that have made me a better player. They always had a positive attitude, nice things to say, and they, without exception, always criticized constructively. Every time I was around them I felt confident with my performance, and I never felt scared about asking questions since they were always available with a smile on their faces. 

When I was with my teammates, I always felt supported. I never really felt like an outsider because at the end of the day, we were all just a bunch of friends enjoying a sport we all loved. When I played with them, I knew they all had my back and when I made a mistake, they cheered me up and helped me get back on my game. 

When we were in tournaments in other cities, we would all start chanting out team’s anthems to the top of our lungs, we would play games together, and meet in our hotel rooms and talk till late hours at night (which we should not have done because most of those days we had games the following day, but it was still fun). 

This family I had during my 6th grade year, was, and has been one of the most special years of my life, soccer-wise and fun-wise. The people I got to be with made that year extra special, and made me want to continue playing soccer for the following years. The support, the love, and the courage this team brought me has been a true dream. And to further, and finally show my appreciation to this team, the chant we would all say at the beginning of a game, “What are we, a team! What are we, a family! 1,2,3, Madrid!”

Thank you to everyone who was part of that time; it’s been great.