More Than Soccer: The Club Where My Son Found His Place

By: Edmaris Carazo (What’s Up Rincón)

After the pandemic, we were desperate to find a place near home where my three-year-old son could burn off energy, play, and be around other kids. At that point, we weren’t looking to raise an athlete, just for him to have fun.

During the first few weeks, he’d run off in the middle of practice, lose focus, and sometimes didn’t even want to step on the field. What I appreciated most was that no one pressured us to commit. The focus was simply on whether he liked it, whether he found something that would make him want to come back on his own.

And he did.

Week after week, he started to fall in love with soccer, make friends of different ages, and learn things that go far beyond the sport: the value of friendship, the importance of losing with dignity, winning with humility, and enjoying the process as a team.

A Club With Purpose

Rincón Surfers Soccer Club, founded in August 2005, is a developmental soccer academy focused on building skills through play.

As a nonprofit organization, it complies with all certifications and corporate obligations. Its mission is to teach children to play, coexist, and compete with purpose. All while fostering values and healthy habits in a positive and respectful environment.

The teaching method adapts to each child’s real abilities and evolution, encouraging autonomy, tactical thinking, and decision-making during play.

Methodology: Learning Through Play

The club integrates recognized and certified methodologies such as EBC (Competency-Based Learning) and TGFU (Teaching Games for Understanding). These methods prioritize active learning and holistic development.

Core Pillars

Autonomy: practices and games that encourage decision-making.
Education: methods based on each child’s natural development.
Motivation: learning through enjoyment, with minimal invasive instruction.
Complementarity: ongoing individual and group improvement experiences.

Through modified games and real-life situations, children learn to solve problems on the field, strengthening their tactical intelligence, creativity, and independence.

Training and Experiences

The club offers internal development programs from U5 to U11 categories, with mini goals, basic rules, and no referees, to foster understanding of the game and full participation. Players also have access to intramural tournaments, federation competitions, and international experiences that strengthen their technical and personal growth.

Rincón Surfers also has a U15 girls’ division and a women’s senior team that competes nationally in the Puerto Rico PRO League.

With over 20 years of development, training, and community involvement, Rincón Surfers Soccer Club has become a space where sports are lived with purpose.

Certified Coaches

The club’s technical team is made up of professionals with broad experience and both national and international certifications.

Juan Carlos Sánchez

Sports Director
Youth Coach (U9 to U13)
CONCACAF and FPF C License
Specialized Soccer License, DRD

Michelle Meléndez

Children’s Coach / Baby Soccer (U5 to U7)
Physical Education Teacher, D.E.
Grassroots License
FPF D License

Christopher Morales

Goalkeeper Coach
FPF National Referee
Physical Education Student, UPRM
Over 20 years of experience in development and training

Certifications and Accreditations

CONCACAF Youth C License
FPF C and D Licenses
Grassroots License
Specialized Soccer License, DRD
Certified TGFU and EBC Methodologies

Where to Find Them

Practices and games are held at the Polideportivo de Rincón (Track and Field Complex), a safe and well-equipped space for teaching soccer from early ages.

Location: Polideportivo de Rincón
Contacts:
Mayra Saldivia (VP) 787-225-1682
Juan Carlos Sánchez 787-546-3438
Social Media:
Facebook: Rincon Surfers Soccer Club
Instagram: @rinconsurfers

More Than a Club, a Community

Over these three years, my son hasn’t just learned to play soccer. Week after week, he continues to learn about respect, effort, empathy, and teamwork.

More than a sport, this club has become a small community where children grow up happy, playing with purpose and forming bonds that go far beyond the field.

If you’re looking for a children’s soccer club in the west that prioritizes growth, friendship, and fun, Rincón Surfers Soccer Club is a wonderful place to fall in love with the game.