When 17-year-old Alessio Venturini laces up his cleats, he’s usually preparing for fast-paced matches on the sun-soaked fields of northern Italy. But this spring, the foreign exchange student found himself on the sidelines of a much different pitch—cheering on elementary students as they learn to play soccer.
Trading competition for coaching a Stanley U10 soccer team, Venturini is bringing a piece of Italian soccer culture to a small-town elementary league and learning just as much from his young players as they are from him.
“I come from a town near Rome,” Venturini said adding that it’s a quiet place similar to Stanley.
Venturini’s love for soccer started early. “I started playing soccer after I started watching games with my father,” he shared. “When I started playing, I was inspired by Gonzalo Higuain.”
Back home, soccer seasons are serious business.
“The seasons start in September and end around June, 3/4 training sessions per week and on the weekend there is the game,” Venturini explained. But this spring, instead of gearing up for matches of his own, he’s been helping to coach Stanley’s U10 players—an experience that has opened his eyes to the way youth sports differ between cultures.
“Surely the knowledge of the rules and the types of training, the cultural difference is felt,” he said. “It’s like trying to coach Italian children in baseball.”
Still, the level of enthusiasm surprised him. “I was surprised by the number of children who want to play,” Venturini said. “There has never been a team in Stanley, and I didn’t think there was this interest.”
To help guide the kids, he’s brought some of his own soccer experience into their drills. “I took almost all the drills from old workouts I did a long time ago,” he said.
So, what made him want to spend his time coaching a group of elementary students? “To inspire them and because I hope they continue to play even when they grow up.”
It’s the joy and energy of the kids that keep him coming back. “Their desire to play to have fun and learn a new sport,” Venturini said, is what he enjoys most. And the experience has taught him a lot, too. “That patience and kindness are needed to improve.”
While he hasn’t yet introduced any Italian words or soccer chants to the group, the cultural exchange is clear in the lessons shared on and off the field. And when asked about his favorite current player, Venturini replied without hesitation: “Right now probably Vitinha,” referring to the rising Portuguese midfielder playing for Paris Saint-Germain.
Whether on the streets of Rome or the fields of Stanley, Alessio Venturini’s passion for soccer—and for sharing it—has made a lasting impact.