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First, the City of Aventura’s Bold Nation Under-10 Soccer Team won the West Pines Cup.
Bold Nation Sports Founder/CEO Christian Blandon and his coaches were elated, as were the youngsters, their parents and the City leaders. But right on the heels of that prestigious award , the City’s Bold Nation Under-15 Soccer Team went on to win the Alliance Cup.
This called for a big celebration, and Aventura Marketing Council/Chamber of Commerce (AMC) Chairman Gary Pyott knew exactly how to celebrate.
Very quickly, the AMC teamed up with the City of Aventura and Christian Blandon to hold a special AMC Breakfast Meeting to honor these outstanding young professionals who were learning so much about teamwork, dedication, persistence and hard work both on and off the field. The beautiful Hilton Aventura was the site for the full-house meeting where 99% of the team members and their parents were there, thanks in great part to the work of the City’s Director of Community Services Kimberly Merchant and her team and U-10 parent, Raul Fadel.
Cameron Wheeler (Camie Liz) , one of the superstars from the AMC’s YOUNG STARS SHOWCASE, greeted all the guests with song accompanied by Master Pianist Moises Herrera. Blandon brought in national sports anchor Jorge Andres, and during the program, the two of them spoke about the many benefits that youngsters receive by participating in sports. “ My goal is to empower our youth through sports and create leaders on and off the field. Winning a game of soccer isn’t the goal, but winning in life is!” said Blandon.
Mayor Enid Weisman was positively glowing as she spoke about how proud the entire City is of all the young soccer players who gave their all to bring home trophy after trophy and becoming such a great source of pride for the entire City . She gave a great deal of credit to Christian who shares his passion and dedication to sports with all the youngsters every day. Mayor Weisman added, “ How wonderful to be able to celebrate the success of Aventura’s incredible Bold Nation Soccer Teams– move over Manchester United – Aventura is in the house!!!”
Blandon asked two of his young soccer stars, nine year-old Alex Padilla and 14 year-old Martin Gabela, to talk about what soccer meant to them, and the room was absolutely silent as each youngster took the podium and spoke beautifully from the heart .
Blandon and Andres spoke about “The Journey from Kids’ Soccer to Professional Sports”.
Beyond the inspiring comments from both about how hard these youngsters worked and how soccer was laying such a great foundation for their futures, no matter their paths, both are immigrants. Blandon, whose parents were at the event, spoke lovingly about how he always wanted to make them proud of him, and how they always supported him on his journey to follow his dreams as he became a professional soccer player . Andres spoke about his background and said that perhaps one of the most impactful words he was ever told was “Do It Now!”, a phrase that rang true for so many people in the audience, adding,
“Christian and his team have done a wonderful job with these kids and ALL of the leaders in the room are pivotal to the success of our city and these young kids’ future.”
Kimberly Merchant, the City’s Director of Community Services, said, “ Travel soccer was needed as next step for our residents, and today, we have 124 youngsters in our City of Aventura Travel Soccer League led by Christian.”
AMC Executive Committee member Chris Ferreira from FPL read off each player’s name as they walked to the podium to receive a medallion from Mayor Weisman and Certificates of Appreciation from both the City of Aventura and the AMC during the reception line.
Participating in the reception line were City Manager Ron Wasson, Deputy City Manager Bryan Pegues, Police Chief Michael Bentolila, Christian Blandon, Jorge Andres, Kimberly Merchant, Hilton General Manager Royce Brady and AMC Chairman Gary Pyott, each one waiting to personally congratulate the youngsters.
Every once in a while, you come away from an event on a ‘natural high’, and this meeting did just that, leaving everyone feeling confident that our nation will be in good hands with youngsters like these as our future leaders.
For more information about City of Aventura sports programs, contact Kimberly Merchant at merchantk@cityofaventura.com
For more information about Bold Nation Sports, contact Christian Blandon at christianblandon@boldnationsports.com
