Coach Riccardo winning with Soccer Stars

Rohnert Park Soccer Stars coach Riccardo Oliva passionately discusses the community focused program he created especially for children.

Soccer, or football in most other places that are not named the United States, is the universal game. It's the most played sport of any in the world and one could only travel to South America or Europe to see this for themselves. Brazil, Argentina, Germany, England, Italy and so many other nations treat soccer like Americans treat football. In Europe and other soccer crazed nations, the top athletes are all playing the sport, unlike America where most of the top athletes will participate in football and basketball. For Coach Riccardo Oliva, who was born in El Salvador and raised in Italy, this is the case.

"Soccer is my religion, that's the problem," Oliva said. "When I grew up, we didn't have shoes or even grass to play on, but I loved the game so much I didn't care."

Oliva tells a story about the first time his parents got him soccer cleats. He remembers never taking them off, even sleeping in them. For children who grow up in poor but soccer crazy countries, this is normal. For those in the states who grow up in the inner cities, they could probably share similar experiences with basketball or even football. If you love the sport, you’ll do anything you can to play and get good.

"My goal was to play professionally," Oliva said. "So, I was going to do everything I could to reach that goal. It took a lot of hard work, but through hard work in the classroom and on the soccer pitch I accomplished that goal."

When Oliva decided to leave Europe for America in 1999, he had one goal in mind; bring his love of soccer to the states where it was clear the sport wasn't as popular as where he grew up.

"In my old country I had a soccer coaching license, but when I came here in 1999 I didn't, so my goal was to always get a coaching license," Oliva said. "I wanted to pass on my knowledge to the young kids in this country because this America is my second home. My family and kids are here. Soccer runs through my blood; I can't live without it and my passion is to teach kids soccer and my reward is to see all those kids happy."

Coach Riccardo has been involved in coaching for the last 15 years, either as a volunteer or assistant. When he decided to start Soccer Stars back in 2018, it was an extensive process that included him coordinating with the City of Rohnert Park and having them sign off on it. Since then, the program has taken off.

Though the Covid 19 pandemic complicated the program, Coach Riccardo and his kids were resilient. Instead of cancelling their events and staying inside, Coach Riccardo, in accordance with the city and parents, found a way to keep the program going through extensive safety measures. Some of these included hand washing, sanitizing all equipment, masks, 6 feet social distance, all the things necessary to keep the children safe. Coach Riccardo took pride in the fact that no kids got sick during his camp, which speaks to how much work he and the city put in to make sure these kids were getting the exercise they needed during such a difficult time.

"I think Covid changed the program for the better because there's way more kids now," Oliva said. "During Covid there were 8 to 10 kids, but now all the kids can be together and learn teamwork. The goal of this program is to bring healthy activity to these kids because that's the most important thing for them."

Soccer Stars range in age from 5 to 12 and runs from March through October 11th. This marks the perfect time between the soccer seasons. Soccer season for most schools starts during the winter, so Soccer Stars running from March to October gives those who play soccer year-round the training necessary to continue crafting their skills. This year's group is 20 players, 10 boys and 10 girls. Coach Riccardo also gives private lessons to those kids who feel like they need the extra tutoring and guidance.

The goal of this program is to teach kids soccer. Coach Riccardo is working for free; he's not charging the parents any money to join since his goal is to teach soccer for fun and not profit off of it. He also said he doesn't charge since there's several families who won't be able to afford the added cost.

There are two sessions, one that starts in March and runs until the end of July and then another session is from August through October 11th. Once the session ends, Coach Riccardo will put on a 30-to-40-minute graduation ceremony for the kids to honor them and make them feel like they accomplished something really good. This is the type of program that every community needs; one that's not for profit, but for love of children and the sport.

At the end of the day, Coach Riccardo cares about one thing, soccer. Through his love of soccer, he's passing that on to his five boys and then to the Soccer Stars. When asked what his favorite part is, he gave a very simple answer.

"I love seeing the kids drive up and yell my name out the window," Oliva said. "They yell Coach Riccardo, Coach Riccardo, and run up and give me a big hug. This is why I do this, for the kids."

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