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FC Grande Ready to Score Big in Las Cruces

Michael Hernandez

http://youtu.be/CF9-bs3vARI

Homegrown talent has given rise to a new semi-pro soccer club in Las Cruces.

FC Grande begins play this spring as members in the United Premier Soccer League, a pro-development league formed in 2011 with about 140 teams in more than 30 states.  FC Grande will compete in the league’s Southwest Conference.

21-year-old Las Cruces native Alexis Ruiz is the team’s owner and has been playing soccer for the past 15 years. Ruiz said he founded the team to give himself and his friends the opportunity to play at the next level.

“There’s a lot of talent here in Las Cruces and I essentially believe that this was the right choice and you know, a lot of people are really grateful for it,” Ruiz said. “It’s an opportunity and a lot of people are really making the most of it.”

Ruiz said the league is highly competitive, which helps teams like FC Grande give amateur players the chance to develop into professionals.

“I think these players still have it and there’s a lot of talent out here that should be professional. That’s why we’re here, to you know give them that opportunity,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz said soccer is popular in Las Cruces and the sport’s local support made it the ideal place to host a team. Players have been practicing since tryouts began in December in hopes of making it past the final stage.

FC Grande’s leadership has plenty of experience. Head coach Phillip Flores has been coaching soccer for more than 20 years, including stints with U.S. Soccer development program FC Dallas Academy. He said the roughly three-dozen players competing for a spot on the team are full of ambition.

“There’s a lot of different age groups here, as the oldest being 26 to the youngest being 16, so there’s a lot of character in these players, and that’s what’s going to make it hard to pick because it’s some of their first time, so it’s going to be a tough decision to do,” Flores said.

Players who make the final cut become part of the 25 to 30-man roster. But Coach Flores said it takes more than just skill to score points with him.

“Well one of the things we look for is character in a player,” Flores said. “You know it’s just not always technique or his development… it’s the player’s character and his desire to play. The discipline that he may carry with him is what eventually is going to be the deciding factor.”

Flores said he wants players that will be dedicated to the demanding schedule a semi-professional team requires. The team has a two-month preseason to shape up before its first exhibition game in late March against Albuquerque Sol FC.

One of those players competing for his shot is Daniel Nevarez, who plays forward and midfielder. Nevarez played for Coach Flores growing up. After continuing his soccer career throughout high school and college in Texas, he’s back in his hometown of Las Cruces and said he’s ready to pick up where he left off.

“I love that I can come back to this community that helped me a lot through my younger years and give something back to them…it’s like a help-me, help them situation,” Nevarez said.

Nevarez said he looks forward to being part of the team and helping get some wins. But he said won’t be discouraged if he doesn’t make the cut.

“A lot of people, when they don’t make certain things or places, they get frustrated and they give up and that’s not the way to do it,” Nevarez said. “You have to go back to the drawing board and work harder, work on whatever it is that you failed at to come back and hopefully make the team next year.”

Coach Flores said FC Grande provides an opportunity for players to compete locally at a high level.

“It just shows the youth here that there is an out in all of their hustle, their determination, their dedication, there is a door here that they can open locally,” Flores said.

Fortunately, Ruiz and Nevarez both made the team. Coach Flores’ advice to players who didn’t make the cut is to continue to follow their dreams.

Don’t give up because just like this opportunity came, you’ll have another,” Flores said. “Work through it, have that determination…you always get better every day. Every time you step on the soccer field, you do get better. No doubt about that. Maybe this just wasn’t your time but the determination has to be there.”

And FC Grande looks determined to make a name for itself in the Mesilla Valley.

Michael Hernandez was a multimedia reporter for KRWG Public Media from late 2017 through early 2020. He continues to appear on KRWG-TV from time to time on our popular "EnviroMinute" segments, which feature conservation and citizen science issues in the region.