 After establishing his first competitive team in 1998 for the kids in The Mission, coach Wilfredo would constantly reassure his players that someone on the team would graduate from college. Astounded by his motive, his players would respond, "Coach, no one in my family has ever graduated from college." Wilfredo would let them know that they would be the first, they would be the example in their families for generations to come.
Galindo recalls people questioning him "wasting" his time and fields on kids that, in their eyes, don't even have the motivation to graduate from high school. Comments like these would light a fire in him and he knew he had to be the one to fight for these kids, to get involved in more schools, and make sure he found them opportunities in work and on the soccer field. "I quickly realized that what I am doing is working, so I went on the create more teams and find more opportunities for the kids in The Mission." From his team in 1998, 9 of the players were the first in their families to graduate from college. Others on the team went on to careers in architecture and in the medical field. Wilfredo’s story has continued to grow over the years. There’s much more to come from this man and his community! For now, catch up on the first part of Wilfredo's story here!  Born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States in 1981, Coach Wilfredo Galindo was immediately drawn to San Francisco due to its size and diversity. He began playing soccer in the city and quickly realized that the soccer community in The City was the best way to meet and communicate with others. In 1988, with the support of some community members in The Mission District he decided to start a soccer team so that kids in the community could see what he learned through the beautiful game.
There's more to come! You'll hear more impact stories about Wilfredo & how he is working in the community to inspire kids to be all they can be. Subscribe to our newsletter!  SAN FRANCISCO, CA (JANUARY 21, 2021) - San Francisco Elite Academy (SFEA) has hired U.S. Beach Soccer National Team Player of the Year, Ali Hall. Hall will be joining the girls coaching staff at SFEA.
SFEA is committed to hiring Women in head coaching positions. When asked about the importance of female representation as Head coaches in youth soccer Hall replied, "It's important to have female representation as head coaches because diversity all around is a great thing to have. To have different voices, auras, and faces around so that players can relate and learn from a variety of coaches. Specifically for the female players, to have a coach they can relate to and look up to as another female athlete, has significance. I look forward to bringing some representation to the female coaching side at SFEA." Ali Hall joins the club with a great resume at hand. Born and raised in Chicago, Hall began her soccer career at one of the top clubs in the nation, Eclipse Select, where she competed for three national championships. Hall then continued on and played Division 1 college soccer at the University of Tennessee where she was named the 2012 NCAA Division I All-South Region Player of the Year and was 2012 All-SEC 2nd Team. After Tennessee, Hall took a short break from the game and started her coaching career at MVLA Soccer Club, where she coached for 7 years. During this time she began playing beach soccer, which she is still pursuing while coaching. Hall currently plays for Cali Beach Soccer Club, a beach soccer club based in the Bay Area and the United States Women's Beach National Team. Hall was awarded the U.S. Beach Player of the Year in 2021. Hall says "It was a huge honor and I feel very humbled and excited for the future of beach soccer." When asked what drew her to coach at SF Elite, Hall said, "What drew me to the SFEA was the conversations that I has with the leaders of the club and the pursuit of excellence of high level, quality soccer. Creating opportunities for players who live in the city to play at the highest level is a clear objective of the club. I believe that SFEA is on the upward trajectory and I feel excited to be part of that growth with the players and coaching staff." |
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