Soccer Coach Orlando

We received the most devastating news last night.  Julia's soccer coach, Orlando Alvarez, had died on Friday in a golf cart accident.  We had her sit with us on the couch and shared the news with her.  She was crying.  We were crying.  For a while we sat there.

Jeremy shared the memory of when the girls were all waiting at the soccer field and they saw Coach Orlando walking toward them.  They decided to all run towards him.  He hid behind a tree and the girls all found him and laughed.  Then they all ran back towards the field.

Orlando has been a pivotal figure in Julia's life and helped her grow in her confidence and abilities.  He had a wonderful way of pushing the girls to give their best, but without all the yelling and intensity shown by other coaches.  He never made them feel bad and never put them down.  He was a constant encourager and teacher.  Julia will have her first soccer practice on Monday without him.  The first one this year without him.  It's going to be hard and there's a lot of hard days to come.  Grateful for his influence and so devastated that he's gone.