Many young people prefer electronic games or going to the gym because it's the latest trend. One teenager escapes this reality by regularly practicing ball sports.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- Annalie Alonso Gómez, 17, is a student at the Luis Urquiza Jorge Pre-University Vocational Institute of Exact Sciences (IPVCE) who links academic performance with athletic performance in a show of willpower and dedication. She emphasizes, "Having good academic results helps you be disciplined and consistent in training. You have to balance both; if you do well in school, you'll also do well on the field, and vice versa."
Passionate about soccer since she was a child, Annalie began playing the sport in 2022. Although it may seem like a short time, she has already participated in two national championships with the Las Tunas team, one U-18 and the other U-20. She also adds to her short but impressive list of achievements that she has been part of the U-20 national pre-selection.
“Since I was little, I've loved sports, especially soccer. I consider it a game with a large following, not only in Cuba but around the world. Nothing compares to the excitement of hearing a goal being called,” she says, a sparkle in her eyes betraying the passion she carries within, as if searching her memory for the last shot that ended up in the net.
This young woman, a fan of the Barcelona FC, began her career on the sports field of the Juan Ramón Ochoa school, located in the La Victoria neighborhood of this eastern city. There, she responded to the call made two years ago by coach Raúl Medina Pérez when he began recruiting girls interested in soccer.
Without a doubt, Alonso Gómez has the required skills to excel on the field, among them an enviable shooting power with both legs, like few others. This makes her an ideal midfielder, capable of managing the pace in a playing area that demands physical effort and vision to handle transitions from defense to attack and vice versa optimally. In her boots, as in her personality and intelligence, Annalie embodies the most sought-after qualities in a coach.
WITHOUT A TWO THINKS
For this young woman, there seem to be no limits when it comes to sporting challenges. In addition to soccer, she has the skills to venture into other sports, as confirmed by her inclusion on the Las Tunas 5-a-side baseball team that participated in the most recent edition of the National Championship in Guantánamo. “They were looking for young players to join the provincial pre-selection to participate in the National Championship. I was playing volleyball at school, and the coaches who were recruiting noticed something in me.
After the match, they approached me to ask if I wanted to join. They then told me they had seen my strength in attack, something that caught their attention,” she adds, as if rediscovering her potential for herself.
“Participating in the 5-a-side baseball competition and representing my province was a wonderful experience. Even though I had never played the sport, I really enjoyed it, and it motivated me to prepare myself further and be in better shape for the next tournament.”
Without a doubt, we are witnessing an athlete with more than enough physical and psychological potential to become one of the most outstanding soccer players in the country in the immediate future. Surely, her name will soon be heard among 5-a-side baseball players, with praiseworthy results. And who knows, maybe one day we'll see her walking the streets of Las Tunas proudly wearing the Cuba team jersey.
