SAN DIEGO — This summer, more than 800 kids are spending the days at soccer camp, getting a chance to learn from and play with San Diego Loyal players.
For the Loyal, it's a special moment, and one of their many efforts to engrain themselves into the San Diego community and with Latinos.
The camp is in its fourth week at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.
"It's an amazing feeling to give back to the kids as much as we can," Loyal defender Elijah Martin said. "That's part of the reason why I play football; to inspire the next, whether you're younger or older, and being in tight with the community is an amazing way to do that."
Martin is one of several players who've joined kids during the summer camp. While News 8 was there, groups of kids came up to Martin, for hugs and fist bumps. The kids knew Martin by name, as he did them.
"It's definitely more than football," Associate Head Coach Nate Miller said.
A sense of community is big for the Loyal. Miller said from the team's inception two years ago, volunteering was a core value. He said the team has known from the get-go - they want to be in the community - and of the community.
"We want [everyone] to fall in love with the club, but for that to happen, we have to serve those communities first," Miller added.
To do so, the team is hosting beach cleanups, blood drives, and even a full week for players and coaches to volunteer in August. The Loyal's Leal Sin Muros campaign aims to connect specifically with Latinos.
"They really wanted to do it in an authentic way and to let particularly the Latino community know they were here for the community," Nancy Maldonado, CEO of the Chicano Federation, said.
The federation and the Loyal are partners in their volunteer efforts, specifically in the Latino community.
"They wanted to be of the community, not just in the community," she said.
It's a partnership people like Dannia Hernandez, whose daughter is attending the soccer camps, thinks will unite San Diegans after the pandemic forced us apart.
"They're famous really," she said. "They're these sportspeople that you can support and they're cleaning up. Well, we can do that too."
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