Photo By Cpl. Garrett White | Lance Corporal Brain Ramirez, administrative clerk on Marine Corps Logistics Base...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - Marines across the Corps are known for not only performing their duties, but going the extra mile and volunteering their time to the local community.
Lance Corporal Brian Ramirez, administrative clerk on Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif., spends his afternoons as a volunteer coach for a girls' youth soccer team known as "The Galaxy Girls."
“One day I was talking to a co-worker about soccer,” said Ramirez. “I was explaining to her how much I love the game. I also told her if I could coach or play again, I would do it in a heartbeat. After that conversation, she told me her friend was a soccer coach and needed help. So, I took the opportunity.”
After meeting the head coach, Rita Martinez, Ramirez was given a course on how to act around the children and what was acceptable and not acceptable, he explained.
“My first day coaching gave me a flashback from when I used to play,” expressed Ramirez.
The Los Angeles native explained when he is teaching the adolescents, he is giving those skills and knowledge, he once received, back to them, so they can improve their soccer skills.
“I have been coaching soccer for 12 to 13 years now and Brian has taught me things about soccer I (never knew),” said Martinez. “He is a great asset for the team because of his experience and patience with the children.”
Ramirez teaches the children with patience, he will go over the same thing until the whole team grasps the skill and knows how to do it on their own, she added.
Ramirez coaches for a number of reasons however, the most important reasons are keeping the children away from bad influences and having the opportunity to watch his soccer players apply the skills he taught them in games.
“When I see them perform a move I taught them, it makes all the time and effort I have given them and spent teaching the same move over and over worth it,” said Ramirez. “Also, knowing they are spending more time at practice and away from bad influences makes me feel good because I’m helping them become better people in the long run.”
However, Ramirez doesn’t let coaching get in the way of his military career. He still stays true to the Corps’ standards.
“It is hard to maintain both, being a U.S. Marine and a coach, but I make it work because they are both important to me,” Ramirez expressed. “Sometimes I have to miss out on practices and games (due to military duties). So, when I go to the next practice, the team and I work harder to make up for lost time.”
Ramirez also tries to implement Marine Corps values while he coaches, such as teamwork. Teams can’t win games in soccer if everyone isn’t working as one. It’s just like how Marines conduct themselves on a day-to-day basis, explained Ramirez.
“We use teamwork to accomplish the mission in the Corps, same as soccer,” he added, “however, instead of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and maneuver, we are trying to score goals.”
Right now, Ramirez coaches the team at least four times a week, Martinez said. He is also at most games with the team.
Ramirez will continue to volunteer his time, as a coach and a mentor, to the team as they go through their soccer season and uphold the values of the Corps.
| Date Taken: | 09.25.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2013 18:23 |
| Story ID: | 114268 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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