Tec using football to encourage youngsters not to drop out of school

With the goal of minimizing school dropout rates in the Campana-Altamira area of the municipality of Monterrey, the Tec is collaborating with initiatives and giving its support to Cambio para el Aprendizaje en Niños y Adolescentes A.C. (Campana A.C.), a civil association whose aim is to drive education through sports.

The institution provides academic tutoring by means of the 2016 Campana-Altamira Initiative and the student community services department on the Monterrey campus.

For its part, Cambio para el Aprendizaje en Niños y Adolescentes A.C. invites teenagers from the area to join the Campana-Altamira Cardinals football team free of charge.

For youngsters to be able to join the Cardinals, they must go to school and receive academic tutoring.

“It’s up to us to promote sports and education and bring about transformation in the Campana area. We’re looking for donations for the team and authorization to let the team play their home games at the Banorte Stadium (Home of the Borregos).

“This would convey the message that they have both home-field advantage and the Tec’s support,” said Tania Arrambide, manager of the Tec’s Campana-Altamira Initiative.

Campana-Altamira Cardinals was registered for the first time last year in the Monterrey Football League (MLF), Mexico’s largest youth soccer league.

Two members of the team will graduate from high school this coming June and twenty-four teenagers will take their high school entrance exam.

Promoting Education in Campana-Altamira

In collaboration with Campana A.C. and the Tec’s community services, close to twenty-five students called “cardinal tutors” have been giving academic tutoring to children and young people through the Campana-Altamira Initiative.

This initiative is an inter-sectoral and collective effort requiring community responsibility that seeks to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Campana-Altamira area in a sustainable manner.

“We had a student who completed his community service and kept on volunteering for another year. He had a huge heart.

“We owe him so much because he started (his community service) during the pandemic. He encouraged his classmates and built up a great relationship with us,” said Oscar Morales, the club’s head coach.

Campana A.C. is one of Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Monterrey campus training partners.

A training partner is an agent or entity with which the institution collaborates to implement student training initiatives, which enables both to receive a fresh, external perspective from students willing to offer innovative proposals.

Sharing their Sporting Experiences

Gilberto Escobedo, Tec graduate and winner of four ONEFA titles with Borregos, has been providing his sports knowledge to the Campana Altamira Cardinals as sports coordinator for three years.

“I want to share what football has given me. It’s a sport that’s a lot like life: it sets up plays for you. These kids are all heart and I love being with them,” said Gilberto.

The quarterback, who has won the most championships ever with the Monterrey Borregos, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in International Agribusiness from the Monterrey campus.

“It’s a source of pride that the Tec and my Borregos Monterrey have a representative doing his bit for the youth of the future,” added the Tec graduate.

"These kids are all heart and I love being with them” - Gilberto Escobedo.

Starting the Cardinals Club

Oscar Morales explained that one of the earliest trades in Cerro de la Campana was that of bird catcher, which involved catching a variety of birds including cardinals.

“Gilberto played for Borregos Monterrey alongside Rolando Cantú, who’s an Arizona Cardinal.

“Rolando put the Campana A.C. project to the general manager of the Arizona Cardinals: he loved it! He authorized us to use the name and colors and work together in certain areas,” said Morales.

Oscar co-founded Campana A.C. with Humberto Silva, current president of the Campana Altamira Cardinals and founder of the civil association.

“We use football as an anchor to hold children and adolescents’ attention and to improve their learning skills, thereby giving them a solid chance at a better life,” Silva noted.

Cambio para el Aprendizaje en Niños y Adolescentes A.C. celebrated its third anniversary as a civil association on May 4 this year.

ALSO READ: