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Feature Article by Dan McLellan,
Sports Writer, www.sandiego.com
“Author Gil Sperry Turns Chula Vista Kids Into Heroes”
A group of students at Valle Lindo Elementary in the Chula Vista Elementary School District may not be a likely source of inspiration for two Hollywood screenwriters. However, that is exactly what happened for fifteen boys and five girls in grades 4 through 6, thanks to author Gil Sperry’s newest book, “Soccer’s Story & A Futbol Fable: The Beautiful Game, A Beautiful Season.”
Sperry’s book is really three for the price of one in an easily read 107 pages. The first segment of his book gives a brief history of the game of soccer by quickly teaching how the game evolved around the globe in its various forms throughout the ages. The third segment serves as a valuable resource guide for those who are
interested in coaching soccer. The guts of the book lie in the second segment, the inspiring true story of the 2007 Valle Lindo Eagles. The Eagles are a co-ed soccer team whose tale may become the subject of a major
motion picture.Sperry introduces this story with its conclusion: the Eagles playing in the championship game at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista. Therefore, the story of Sperry’s Eagles is far less about the outcome of any one game than it is about the journey that the coach and his team went on together.
A glimpse of Sperry’s own history will better illuminate the story. In the fall of 1960, Sperry was exposed to organized soccer for the first time as a basketball player for Kenyon College in Ohio. Kenyon had hired Bob Harrison, a former NBA player who had won four championships with the then-Minneapolis Lakers, as its new head basketball coach. The Kenyon basketball team quickly learned that he had also been hired as the soccer coach. Harrison informed all the returning members of the basketball team that they would get conditioned for their winter sport on the hardwood by playing soccer for him in the fall.
Thanks to Coach Harrison, Sperry developed a love for soccer that has lasted a lifetime. In 1977, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) added women’s soccer as an official sport. Sperry was hired as “walk-on” coach for the first girl’s team at Miraleste High School in the Palos Verdes School District. He was successful in helping this new team win the first two (CIF) state titles. He also coached championship-caliber teams for the newly-formed American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), as well as at the elite club level.
Eventually the responsibilities of life took Sperry away from soccer. In 2006, nearly a decade into his retirement from the business world, he was looking for something positive to do with his life. Returning to his educational roots, he decided to take on a part-time job working for the Chula Vista Elementary School District as a Physical Education Specialist; his primary duties were to inculcate his young charges with the advantages of pursuing a healthy, physically fit, life style and administering the state-mandated 5th grade Physical Fitness Test developed by the famed Cooper Institute.
In September 2006, Sperry was approached as a coaching candidate by Valle Lindo teacher Marissa Umpstead, who had started her school’s soccer program in 2003. Sperry told her that he was not interested in coaching again, but by December no other candidates had stepped forward and he reluctantly accepted the volunteer position.
In his role as P.E teacher, Sperry noticed that Valle Lindo did not appear to offer a large talent pool from which to select the players to field a competitive soccer team. Many of the children were out-of-shape, lacked fundamental skills, and had no concept of team play. Umpstead and Principal Helena Sabala tried to take the pressure off of Sperry by informing him that there were modest expectations for the upcoming season.
Undeterred by the gloomy forecast, Sperry’s competitive juices began to flow and he set out to produce a representative team. He was shocked to discover that the previous season’s championship team in the ‘co-ed’ division, in which Valle Lindo had competed, had no girls on the team. Sperry convinced the league’s commissioner that each team must have four girls on the roster and at least two on the field at all times.
With only a few short exercise periods remaining until the actual season began, Sperry began to evaluate his students on their basic soccer skills. Only a few players showed potential and most of them were not even interested in trying out for the team. Sperry, with no choice, went ahead with tryouts and picked a twenty member team that included thirteen fourth and fifth graders and five girls.
This is where the real story begins. The beauty of Sperry’s writing lies in the saga of his team struggling to overcome obstacles. He treated the kids that comprised the Valle Lindo Eagles soccer team as true Olympic heroes. The team responded to that respect and in the process they did a lot more than win soccer games, they also learned valuable life lessons.
This book is so compelling that it has already sparked the interest of screenwriters Robert Conder and Steve Gehrke (Script Supervisor for The Dark Knight). Together they are collaborating on a screenplay which is currently titled “The Beautiful Game, A Beautiful Season.”
Soon Sperry’s book will be available through traditional sources. As for now, all sales (and profits) of the book are being turned over to the Chula Vista Elementary School District’s Soccer League, where the Valle Lindo Eagles compete. The first $10,000 in profits from these direct purchases will fund that league and its referee’s certification/training/payment program. This will definitely assist the community in helping train, motivate, and compensate its young high school-age people in these economically difficult times.
For more information, you can contact Sperry directly by e-mail at gilsperry@tyahoo.com or by phone at (619) 887-9288.
…Dan McLellan, Sports Writer, www.sandiego.com
Sperry’s confirmed appearance schedule for 2009 is given below. If you wish to schedule an interview or presentation, please note that any date presently not scheduled, as of 5/10/09 is still open
Jan. 24th...Western National Parks Association (WNPA) Store, Oro Valley , AZ
January 25th...Singing Wind Bookstore, Benson , AZ
Feb. 2nd...N.P.R's "Hear On Earth"..."Mariachi 101", dialogue with Ramiro Burr
February 17th... Juarez-Lincoln Elementary School , Chula Vista , CA
February 18th... Whittier Public Library, Whittier , CA
March 6th...Los Altos Elementary School, Chula Vista, CA
March 7th...City of Alhambra Public Library, Alhambra , CA
March 14th...First Annual Tucson Book Festival, Tucson, AZ
Mar. 15th…The University of Arizona’s Integrated Learning Center, Tucson, AZ
March 19th...California State University-Northridge, Chicano/a Studies . . . . . . . .....................Department Presentation
March 26th…Planning Meeting at Mission San Juan Capistrano for 6/13 Event
April 2nd...Latino Books Y Mas, Palm Springs, CA
April 18th...Encore: WNPA, Oro Valley, AZ Noon and 2:00 PM Events
April 19th...Woods Branch, Pima County Public Library System, Tucson,. AZ
April 20th…Pima Community College (AZ) Desert Vista’s Campus Chicano/a . . ....................Studies Department
April 21st…Ford Elementary School, Tucson, AZ
April 22-26th...27th Annual Tucson Intern'l Mariachi Conference, Tucson , AZ
April 27th... Palm Springs Public Library, Palm Springs, CA
April 28th... Redondo Beach Public Library, Redondo Beach , CA
May 1st...Grand Avenue Branch Library, South San Francisco , CA
May 2nd... Hayward Public Library, Hayward, CA
May 3rd... Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, CA
May 3rd...5th Annual Famous Baja Authors Book Signing, Plaza del Mar, MX
May 5th...Spring Valley Public Library, Spring Valley , CA
May 13th...East Palo Alto Public Library, East Palo Alto, CA
May 14th... Foster City Public Library, Foster City, CA
May 15th... Belmont Public Library, Belmont, CA
June 13th...5th Annual Battle of the Mariachi, Mission San Juan Capistrano , CA
June 19th...Chow Chocolat, Buffalo, NY
June 20th…Village of Williamsville Book Club, Williamsville, NY
June 25th... Pomona Public Library, Pomona, CA
July 1st-August 5th...Vacation: Month in Alaska With Family
Aug. 29/30th...17th Annual International Latino Literacy Fair, Los Angeles , CA
September 16th…Encinitas Public Library, Encinitas, CA
September 23rd-27th…18th Annual San Jose (CA) Mariachi and Mexican .....................................Heritage Festival
October 16-18th...1st Annual San Diego (CA) County Library Literary Event: ..............................“Page One: A Celebration Of The Written Word”
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