The teenage players pick up the elderly from the nursing home to show them around La Cerámica
This year, the Yellows U16s are spending time with the senior citizens from the Mare de Déu de Gràcia care home in Vila-real, thanks to the Endavant Igualtat project. They have already carried out several activities as part of the club’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, but the last one was undoubtedly the most special. Víctor Herrero’s players went to the centre to meet their new friends for the season and show them around the renovated Estadio de la Cerámica, the home of all the Yellows.
The residents of the centre were able to get to know different rooms of the yellow stadium, such as the press room, the changing rooms or the bench area, imagining directing a match from that position. “We have come to see how the stadium has been built and all the adjacent areas, so we can get to know how the club works,” explained Pepe Gallén, one of the residents of the home.
Pepe is a great Villarreal fan, who recites from memory the line-up of the heroes of the 1970 promotion to the Second Division: “Alapont, Debón, Alcañiz, Marzal, Eusebio, Linares, Martínez, Luiche, Palau, Causanilles and Serrano”. If that promotion was already a milestone for the Submarine’s fans, the Europa League, Pepe’s generation could not even imagine it: “A very big accolade. This was a small club that, little by little, has gone from strength to strength. The people are very grateful to the club,” he recalls.
A project that continues to surprise
If anything also surprises Pepe, it is the human quality of the players and coaches of the U16s (Cadete A) and their involvement in Endavant Igualtat, a project that cheers them up for a good part of the year: “It gives us a space in which we trust in the people. The players who come to see us fill our hearts because we are a bit of a part of the world”, explains an excited Pepe, who is not the only one surprised by the Groguet Corporate Social Responsibility programme.
Daniel Lorente, U16s assistant coach, is living his first season at Miralcamp and did not expect this involvement of the club with the province of Castellón: “The impact was great when I entered the club and saw how it worked. I was surprised by this more human side because it is not in any other place I know. You take the kids out of their daily bubble of the sports area and make them see the day-to-day realities outside of football. It’s a very good initiative for the kids’ development,” he underlines.
Víctor Gómez, U16s goalkeeper, also talks about this initial experience: “At first, you’re a bit hesitant because you don’t know what you’re going to find, but once you experience it, it’s a very good feeling to be able to share a day with different people. It’s a very nice project and it helps everyone a lot. We take some very good things away with us.”
Although Víctor has been with the club for some years now, this is his second edition of Endavant, which when he arrived, was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the project, he has been able to live with very diverse people from different generations: “Last year we lived with a shelter for children our age. We lived with them and we saw that not everyone is as lucky as we are and we tried to help them. This year, with the residence, they have more experience than us and can give us advice.”
Like Víctor, his colleagues try to learn from the users of the Virgen de Gràcia residence, many of whom, like Pepe, are great Villarreal fans. Thanks to Endavant, they share unique moments and a passion for the badge.
