Where are you from? 
I’m originally from Houston, but both of my parents are from El Salvador…I have dual nationality. Last year I was living in El Salvador because I had the opportunity to play professional soccer over there. After I finished playing there, I decided there were more opportunities in the U.S. I’d rather work harder and be closer to family while finishing my degree in Kinesiology. I want to stay in sports.

How long have you been playing soccer?
Since I was little.  My dad has his own teams in Houston.  My little brother, Anthony, is a soccer star as well. My whole family is based on soccer. My Dad, Giovanni, has played and has worked with several Houston clubs. Even though my mom, Sara, did softball, after meeting my dad she became a true soccer mom. She’s our biggest supporter.  My parents are the reason I keep going to pursue my dreams.

I’ve also known, Marcelo Galvao, Director of the All Nations Sports Academy (ANSA) and an assistant coach for the Houston Dash, since he coached me on the ODP (Olympic Development Program) team. I was even the South America Representative.

What position do you play?
Defensive mid-fielder or right-back. Or anything that gets me on the field. I just want to play.

What’s a typical day for you?
Outside of classes, I’m at the AR, then training with a run at Memorial Park then some gym work, then practice with my dad’s teams to maintain my skill level. My whole life has been school, work and training to eventually be big one day. That’s always been me. I knew if I didn’t train, I wasn’t going to play like I should.

How do you incorporate recovery into your training?
You can’t just do training, training, training. You have to rest and recover. Cold therapy is big for me. If you don’t take care of yourself, there’s no way you are going to be able to perform the way you want to.  You can’t sprint if you’re in pain. That’s why I love this place because I can be here to help other people. To communicate and share stories.  It’s amazing how many different people come in here, but how these therapies can help them all.

What’s your favorite AR therapy?
I’d say Cryotherapy and Compression for my legs. I love the stretching and wish I could do it more, but it’s not like anywhere else.  Our protocol helps target more than just the pain area, it helps everything. I just like helping people, that’s who I am. It gives me a sense that they’re well-guided.

What do you do when you’re not training or at the AR?
I like spending time with my family. I’m not the type of person that ditches them for friends or things.  My dad’s family is still in El Salvador, so it was amazing to be able to spend time with them while I was playing over there. I couldn’t have done this without my family, especially my Grandma and her food.  I also got to help my Uncle coach his youth teams too. It was a really good experience.