Soccer brings cultures together in Clarksburg during the 4th of July

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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Across the country, many will spend the Fourth of July proudly donning red, white and blue, including families at the old Notre Dame practice field who came out to support their loved ones during Thursday’s Independence Day soccer tournament.

The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church’s Spanish ministry put together the first tournament of its kind on July 4 which was focused on north central West Virginia’s Hispanic population.

“Part of what America is about, right? You know, if we’re all from different backgrounds and different nationalities but we come together and be—we’re one,” said Monsignor Paul Hudock, who conducts Spanish mass services at the church.

The church had missionaries advertise the tournament across social media and at area Latin restaurants. Most of the teammates know each other from work. For example, one team is made of a group that all worked at an area airport, while another is made up of workers from Latin restaurants.

Some players and their families traveled from as far as Buckhannon early Thursday morning to take part in a tournament that aimed to bring communities together.

“Me siento, me siento muy a gusto y me siento contento por ser este invocado aquí el grupo. Y estar aquí otra vuelta con todos chavalos reunidos, y me siento contento ( I feel great, and I feel happy to have been included here in the group. And to be here again with all the guys together. I’m happy ),” said Cecilio Carreño, coach of the Red Bull team that later took on the trophy.

Teams got to compete for a shiny repurposed old Notre Dame High School trophy that now honors St. John Paul II, who was a soccer player himself. Players and their families told 12 News that this event allows them to meet more members of the expanding Latin community in West Virginia, creating new connections.

“En realidad no hay mucho tipo de este tipo de eventos y nos ayuda bastante para relajarnos, para salirnos un poco de la vida cotidiana que, pues estamos generando aquí ( There’s really not many of these kinds of events, and this helps us a lot to relax, and to escape our daily lives a bit, that we’re having here ),” said soccer player Felipe García, who was part of the airport team

And for a team like Brayden Thomason’s which has a mix of Spanish-only and English-only players, they said soccer will be the language that matters on the field.

“I think in the game, you know, everyone’s here to compete, have fun, so if you’re open you’re open, everyone knows how to play so it should be fun,” said Thomason.

Hudock said these tournaments are open to all, not just Catholic or Hispanic community members, to help create a melting pot of culture right here in West Virginia. They’re hoping this won’t be the last time the tournament is held. Updates and announcements will be shared on the church’s Facebook page .

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