It’s safe to say that most young soccer fans dream of one day meeting Lionel Messi, a worldwide soccer legend.
One of those boys, Plant City’s own David Ruiz, recently got to do the next-best thing.
Ruiz, 11, got the opportunity to attend a two-week soccer skills camp, sponsored by the Leo Messi Foundation, in Messi’s hometown, Rosario, Argentina.
“I was really excited, and shocked, at the same time,” he says.
The oldest child in his family of six, Ruiz is the only one of his siblings that plays for a local club team. He’s been with the Plant City Lancers for three of the five years he’s been playing soccer and normally switches between center midfield and left wing.
“I like (center midfield) better, because I get the ball more,” Ruiz says.
To get to the Leo Messi Foundation’s camp, players have to attend a tryout in April and make the cut. Ruiz was invited to take part in the two-day tryout, which was held in Davie, and competed against a field of 30 to 40 others in his age group. This consisted of typical skill drills and pitting Ruiz’s age group against the older age group for a few games.
At the end of the second day, Ruiz was just one of four players selected to go to Argentina.
“I was shocked,” says Dina Ruiz, his mother. “I kept thinking, ‘Is this real?’”
Indeed, it was. Just a few months later, at the end of July, she found herself saying good-bye to her son before he left for South America.
“It was hard,” she says. “There were a lot of emotions. We’re always together.”
Ruiz did miss seeing his family but was excited for what was to come. He even made a friend at the airport: a boy named Francesco who was also going to attend the camp. When they arrived in Argentina, the fact that Ruiz was so far from home really sank in.
“It was weird, at first,” Ruiz says. “The first day took a long time.”
The players were housed in Leo Messi Foundation-owned dorms — which were just “OK,” according to Ruiz — near where the camp activities were held. Typically, the players trained from 3 to 5:30 p.m. every day, working on passing, dribbling and other skills.
Although Messi himself did not attend the camp, Ruiz says it was run by coaches who have worked with him for a while. Some have worked with him since Messi was growing up in Argentina and learning the game himself.
With 40 kids attending the camp, the coaches formed two teams of 20 and played two games. Every player got to play for one half, and Ruiz got to play both of his positions.
“The competition was really good,” he says. “The kids there are faster with the ball when they’re attacking.”
When he wasn’t playing soccer, Ruiz and his fellow campers got to see the sights and sounds of Rosario.
“There were a lot of people having picnics,” Ruiz says. “And, lots of people walking in the streets, on the sidewalks.”
The most impressive thing they saw, according to Ruiz, was one of Argentina’s most famous buildings: Monumento a la Bandera, or the National Flag Memorial. The monument was built to honor General Manuel Belgrano, the man who designed Argentina’s flag.
And, on top of all that, the players got to eat like kings.
“We ate lots of steak and fish,” Ruiz says, smiling.
Ruiz made many new friends, although only four of the campers were from the U.S. Two of them stayed in a hotel with their families over those two weeks, leaving Ruiz and Francesco as the only Americans in the dorms. The rest hailed from Argentina and Bolivia. Still, the boys had a good time.
“I made new friends, and I liked the practices,” he says.
At the end of those two weeks, Ruiz was more than ready to come back to Plant City. He arrived the morning of Aug. 10, to a big, happy family.
“We were very happy to see him again,” Dina Ruiz says. “We went out for a family breakfast.”
Ruiz still keeps in touch with Francesco, using a text-messaging app, and his Lancers teammates were excited to hear all about his trip. He also says attending the camp definitely helped him grow as a player.
“I learned how to move the ball and think faster,” he says. “I learned how to move better during the game. It was productive.”
He still has some time before he can put any of his newfound skills to the test — the Lancers don’t begin their season until October. But, one thing’s for certain right now: If his teachers at Tomlin Middle School ask for a back-to-school-essay assignment, Ruiz likely will have one of the coolest ones.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
LEO MESSI FOUNDATION
The primary goal of Lionel Messi’s namesake foundation is to help children around the world — whether it’s by donating money to help sick kids recover from their illnesses or relieving tension by hosting a soccer camp, “Peace Tour,” in the Middle East.
It also sponsors a soccer camp, for kids such as David Ruiz, every year. The foundation works with the Davie-based European Soccer Club, which hosts the camps tryouts, to send a few players its way.
For more information, visit europeansoccerclub.net.