Arlington dad fulfills dream of building a soccer pitch in his backyard

Sergio Vivanco wanted to make sure local kids had a place to practice, even recruiting kids door-to-door for his competitive team.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Every Monday and Wednesday, a group of young soccer players runs drills, takes shots and chases a dream on a field that was built out of love. The field isn’t at a park or a sports complex, but in Sergio Vivanco’s Arlington backyard.

“I’ve been involved in soccer for 35 years and I have two kids,” Vivanco said. “I’ve been coach for my kids and now that I have the ability to buy a big property and to build a soccer field, that was one of my dreams and it came true.”

Vivanco built the field behind his home for his 12 and 13-year-old team that competes with Atletico Dallas, a youth soccer club. They’re good, too. Winning year after year. “100 degrees they show up to practice. It’s 35 degrees they show up to practice,” Vivanco said.

For players like Brevon Jones, the field has become more than a place to play. It is a place to belong. “I feel alive,” Jones said. “I feel like I’m with people that I know I have a hobby with, and it’s just nice to be around people that I can do the same thing that I like to do.”

Vivanco said he first recruited players by going door to door and visiting nearby grocery stores. “At first to my wife, it was like a crazy idea,” he said. Crazy or not, the idea is working.

Soccer continues to grow across North Texas, and Vivanco said more people are paying attention to the sport than ever before, with a once in a generation tournament coming to the United States, and matches taking place just miles away.

“I can see so many clubs, and it’s been growing drastically,” Vivanco said. “Now everybody’s paying attention to soccer.” He even joked he may even have to cancel some practices so the boys can watch the World Cup matches.

When asked what it would mean to one day put on a USA jersey, Jones did not hesitate. “It would feel amazing,” Jones said. “I would love to represent my country. It would feel like a dream.” For now, that dream is being built one practice at a time, on a backyard field in Arlington.