> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://verdeallday.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Captains, meet the Next Eleven: Ilie Sánchez and Jorge Alastuey visit Walnut Creek Elementary - URL: https://verdeallday.com/captains-meet-the-next-eleven-ilie-sanchez-and-jorge-alastuey-visit-walnut-creek-elementary/ - Published: 2026-09-17T16:52:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-17T17:16:19.000Z - Description: Next Eleven is an Austin FC program created to use the power of soccer to encourage development in young people. Ilie Sánchez and Jorge Alastuey spoke to students Wednesday as club ambassadors. - Author: Moisés Chiullán - Tags: 2026 season, austin fc Wednesday afternoon, Austin FC midfielders Ilie Sánchez and Jorge Alastuey spent time talking to a group of Walnut Creek Elementary fifth graders about focus, inspiration, and perseverance. Some of the reflections provided more insight than expected for both of these men, but more generally the interior lives of footballers we don’t often see. The two captains appeared as part of the Next Eleven initiative from Austin FC; per the club, it "partners with local Title 1 Public Schools to serve our leaders of the future. Next Eleven is a program created to use the power of soccer to encourage development in young people." School visits, library book donations, and visits to Q2 Stadium feature in the program. On Wednesday, Sánchez noted the varied cultures, subcultures, and fandoms represented in the room by what the kids were wearing, from México national team jerseys (worn by many Wednesday in honor of Dieciséis de Septiembre) to Ronaldinho and Lamine Yamal shirts and more. “What you choose to wear is an expression of who you are," Sánchez told the students. "It can mean you are proud of where you are from, or where your family is from. It can mean you like the football or culture of somewhere you or your family *aren’t* from, like Brazil.” Sánchez smiled, recognizing an anime shirt worn by one the students and pointing out, “Dragonball is an identity too!” The two captains (of the first and second teams respectively) reflected on their earliest memories of loving football. “Jorge is beginning his career as I begin to end mine, but I’m as proud and happy as when I started," Sánchez said. Alastuey knows ball, but it turns out he lived, ate, breathed, and *dreamed* ball as a kid. “I would sleep with a ball. We had these soft foam balls that were safe to have in the house, and I had something like 20 of them. I was always with a ball. I had brothers, and I looked up to them and they taught me a lot.” Sánchez added, “My first coach was my older brother.” ## Older brothers and knowing ball Asked what the job of a Captain is, Alastuey minced no words about how Ilie embodies the role. “He’s always eager to help everyone, and leads by example.” Then they turned things around on the kids, asking them what they think is important for leaders to keep in mind. A kid in the back’s hand shot up. “You receive back what you … put out there,” that kid said. Both captains were listening and engaging throughout the afternoon chat, but this seemed to grab them especially. It felt like they carried this into their next answer, about the importance of preparation. “Preparation helps you when the hard times come,” Sánchez said. Alastuey followed on, saying “In moments of stress, when you’re nervous…the preparation helps.” Sánchez said that when he needs to refocus or recalibrate, he’ll listen to one of a few podcasts he listens to of a specific type (which he didn’t outright specify) or call his mom. Asked who their childhood or youth idols were, Ilie said Ronaldinho without hesitation, and Jorge went right to Messi. Kids cheered for both. “Salma” asked the pair what they had learned from a teammate that helped them in their careers. Sánchez noted, “The path that we chose…we were very fortunate to achieve it.” Alastuey recently got into some of this at length in [an interview](https://www.mlsnextpro.com/news/jorge-alastuey-s-long-road-to-austin-is-starting-to-feel-like-home?ref=verdeallday.com) for the MLS Next Pro site. “I learned. how to take care of myself on *and* off the field. When no one’s watching, do you do the things you have to do? Your environment is important. Your family, your friends, your teachers and coaches.” In wrapping things up, numbers 6 and 24 were asked what they would have been had they not become professional soccer players. Ilie touched on what could be not just an alternate universe career, but a future pivot for him. “A doctor, or something in healthcare. I want you all to know that the path you choose doesn’t have to be forever. You have the freedom and flexibility to change who you are and what you do. I want to emphasize that to all of you.” Alastuey said he “\[has\] always liked mathematics, numbers, and the world of finance. I want to keep pursuing that while I keep playing football.” ## The wisdom of youth ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/09/jorge-ilie-with-kids.jpg) A certain subset of kids’ families preferred they not be photographed by the club or attending media, so a group photo was taken with the players, Verdisimo, and ATXFC staff for the majority of kids whose families did consent, and then a second one with all the kids for the school and their families. The student who had so succinctly and cannily answered a question earlier (touching on receiving back what you put out) got emotionally overwhelmed and was the one student who declined being part of the second photo. After the photo was taken and Ilie came over to comfort and chat with him, I waited for a school staff member to come over before paying him a compliment I had been saving since his answer earlier. “You ask great questions; you should be doing my job.” The boy's brow furrowed. “I didn’t *ask* a question, I gave an answer.” I knew that he hadn’t. I was baiting him. “You know what, you’re right, but I bet you *wanted* to ask one. What *would* you have asked if you’d had the chance—“ and before I got to the question mark, he fired back, “I wanna know what kept them going at a time when they thought about quitting.” This kid really *should* be doing my job, so I did the only thing that made sense. I stole from a child. (With credit!) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/09/IMG_9001.jpeg) The 5x7” oversized “trading cards” signed by Jorge and Ilie for the kids. The misspelling on Jorge’s represents both a rite of passage for all sports professionals and a super-rare item that might be worth something on the collectible market in a few years. Following the group photos and a joyful, energetic autograph line, Alastuey spoke to English-language broadcast media, and after the guys with big cameras were done, I said, “One of the students, \[the one\] in the red hoodie?” This got a smile of recognition from Jorge. “He told me he wanted to know what made you keep going in a moment when you considered giving up and quitting.” I mentioned the context of his having moved away from family and living alone, as covered in [the aforementioned MLSNP interview](https://www.mlsnextpro.com/news/jorge-alastuey-s-long-road-to-austin-is-starting-to-feel-like-home?ref=verdeallday.com). ![Director of Event Security Verdisimo kept the line moving. (Moisés Ch](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/09/jorge-ilie-autographs.jpg) **With Verdisimo providing security, Ilie and Jorge sign autographs (Moisés Chiullán)* Alastuey gave the same visible reaction from earlier, indicating this kid *got it,* and recalled how committing to football went deep for him from an early age. “That's a really good question. And I think that question has a completely different answer for every player you ask, because we all have different stories. Me personally, my biggest motivation has always been my mom. She unfortunately passed away when I was 12, and whenever I was starting to think maybe this is my thing … ever since that moment, I made a promise to her and to people close to me that I would be working hard no matter what. “It's true that it comes with a lot of really tough moments, especially when you're so far from your people," he continued. "You have to face them by yourself in a way, even if you always have that support from your family, but it's not the same when you're … as you mentioned, living alone or in a different place. For me personally, it's my mother, my parents, all my family and friends that I try to make them proud. That's my fuel to keep going where things are getting tough.” Maybe that’s the thing that *doesn’t* show up on the stat sheets that has kept the team going as they’ve faced rough seas in 2026. Probably. Definitely. (And thanks to that student for the question.) On Thursday, interim head coach Davy Arnaud talked to me about on the outreach. "In terms of that, just the volume and visibility within a city ... I haven't been part of a club that's done it like that before, and you see the benefit of it," he said. "I think it's awesome, and it's a responsibility that players have, and you were there with two really good guys in Ilie and Jorge ... not only great players, but great ambassadors for our club, and great people and great examples of what we want to be in the community." *Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out* Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) *wherever you get your podcasts.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/07/Verde-All-Day-Newsletter-Banner-Ad-2.png)