Alumni Spotlight - Emilly Olvera
“CFC is more than a club. It builds a family for you. It is a place where you create a second home and a second family.”
My name is Emilly Olvera. I’m a former CFC player and have been playing at CFC for a very long time. I remember playing at CFC like it was yesterday, I was living the best time of my life. I remember when I was little I would spend so much time there. My older sister Susan played for CFC, so we would spend a lot of our weekends at the complex. I would be running around the complex, chasing the ducks and kicking the ball into goal during halftime. I had older cousins who were the same age as my sister who also played for CFC, so as you can imagine if my sister played in the morning and my cousins played after we would be there the whole day watching everyone play.
This is when I realized CFC was literally like my second home. I was there from day to night and I did not complain one bit. I loved being there. Growing up in a household and family filled with love for soccer made me realize that I wanted to play too. I then quickly joined the club when I was about 7 years old. Ever since my life changed.
CFC has to be one of the best clubs out there, if not the best and I truly mean it. Like I said before I would always go watch my sister play. I started to fall in love with the game more and more each day. I loved riding to practice together and going to the complex for fun. It was like our hangout spot.. but the year of 2014 everything changed and it changed in a second. My life from here on was not the same.
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My sister passed away on November 9, 2014. She was 16 years old when she passed away. She was the oldest of 3. It was my sister, me and my little brother Joshua also known as Josh, who also plays for the club. As you can imagine, the loss of anyone is not easy, especially when you lose family. It is something that was very hard to deal with at the time. Never in a million years did I think I was going to experience going through this so early on in my life. It was definitely one of the hardest moments I’ve gone through. I did not want to continue going to school, I did not want to play anymore, I did not want to hangout with my friends or go shopping. I just simply wanted to stay in my room and be alone. I did not want anyone, I just wanted my sister back.
I was stuck. I felt like I was in a deep hole and couldn’t find my way back up. I tried therapy and counseling which I absolutely hated. I didn’t know what else to do.
I decided to grab my cleats and a soccer ball one day. It took a couple tries for me to want to get back to playing. I juggled a few times in our backyard, ran a couple sprints, but everything I did reminded me of her. It didn’t feel right to continue my life without her. A couple weeks passed by. I grabbed my cleats and my soccer ball again but this time instead of playing in my backyard I asked my parents to drive me to CFC. As I was in the car on my way to the fields I wanted to take a turn back. I asked my parents to take me back home. I was regretting my decision because I didn’t know if I was ready to step back on the field and take a step into the real world.
As soon as we arrived I looked through the window of our car and saw the fields were full with teams practicing and parents watching their kids. I did not want to get out of the car, I was scared. As soon as I took a few steps out of the car, into the fields, I saw everyone running towards me. My teammates, my friends, coaches and parents came towards not only me but my family. The feeling I got as soon as everyone started hugging me is something I can’t even explain. Tears came down from me and everyone around. Tears of sadness but also happiness because at this moment I realized I am not alone.
This made me feel and realize that this is more than just a club and teammates. It is about love, support and encouragement. It made me realize I am more than just a player here, I am part of a family and community.
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CFC is more than a club. It builds a family for you. It is a place where you create a second home and a second family. Where you create happiness, joy and dreams.
Because of CFC I was able to step out and move forward. I now play for her.
Because of this I was determined and committed to accomplish all my goals. Moving forward I was part of a team here called Zenith. We found ourselves to be very successful and we were able to get 5 State championships for the club. Being part of a winning culture opened a lot of doors. I got the chance to travel a lot and go to big tournaments where I created so many fun memories and got seen by different colleges.
Thanks to CFC I am where I am today.
I was thankfully able to play all the years I did with the club because CFC offered a financial scholarship which made it easier for my parents since both my brother and I play for the club. I am so thankful to have the opportunity I did with the club. I met so many great people in my journey who I still play with today. I decided to stay local with my schooling and soccer career. I am in my third year at Corban University where I am part of the women’s soccer program. Not only do I get to play with my old CFC teammates at Corban but also here at CFC with Atletica. I am more than grateful to be playing the beautiful game with some beautiful talented girls I grew up with.
Thank you CFC for giving me the people I can’t imagine my life without.
Emilly is entering her Junior year at Corban University. This summer, she will be competing with CFC’s pre-professional team, Atletica, in their inaugural USL W season. You can click here to get tickets.
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