HAVANA – It was my first visit to Cuba since I’ve been travelling with Inter Campus, and the sensations my friends and colleagues related to me still didn’t do enough to describe what I experienced on the island. The Caribbean Sea, which crashes against the Malecon (the road that forms a seawall running along the city’s coastline), was there to greet us. A little later, Francisco and Alessandra opened the doors of their house to us (it’s a custom in Cuba to lodge at private residences), where we were immediately met by the strong smell of coffee.
This was the prelude to meeting the instructors, all of whom graduated from the Universidad del Deporte and are extremely knowledgeable on the teaching methods and techniques of sport. "There’s no joking around here," I immediately thought. And in fact, the level of the theoretical lessons was very high, with in-depth coverage ranging from coordination skills, muscle physiology and basic technique, to the deeper characteristics that unite children around the world: passion, collaboration, motivation, empathy, altruism and love for the game of football.
These are characteristics that we tried to instil during our training sessions at the Ciudad Deportiva. Over these few days in Cuba I realised that football and sport in general are much more than just games and passions; they are a way of life and permit people to follow their dreams in a way that the political situation of the country has never allowed them to.
On the final day at the Estadio Pedro Marrero, the children, divided into groups, gave their all and understood the message that we, along with their coach, wanted to transmit to them: "Sólo se necesita de un balón para sonreírle a la vida". [All you need is a ball to smile at life].
Silvio Guareschi
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