JOSE RAMIREZ
To Whom it May Concern,
I would like to take the time to acknowledge all of the time and effort that Azteca FC’s
Coach Rose Shoen has put into making me not only a better athlete but most importantly a
better person in society. I met Coach Rose in late December of 2018. I reached out to her after
a former high school coach had mentioned her team to me. Rose responded to me and told me
that she would have me come to trainings in Sacramento to earn a spot on her team. Although I
would have to commute one hour there and then one hour back to Marysville, I felt like this was
a great opportunity. My first week training with Azteca FC was wonderful. I will admit I was a bit
nervous as everyone there was a complete stranger to me. At the end of that week Rose
explained to me the high level games that her team would be playing in. Some of these teams
were schools from NCAA Division 1 and Division 2. I was also informed that we would be
playing a game down in Los Angeles against the best PDL, now the USL 2, team in the west
coast. I was glad I decided to begin training with a team such as Azteca FC.
Given that I had began training with Rose’s team a week before Christmas, I was only
there for a week before we had gone a quick little break for the holidays. Two weeks later we
began to train again and the week of January 14, 2019 was only my second week of training
with Azteca FC. At the end of that week Rose reached out to me and asked me if I would be
interested in attending a college iD camp. She noted that this would be a huge opportunity for
me to showcase my talent in front of a few NCAA programs. I told Rose that I would love to
attend the camp, but due to my financial status, I did not have the funds necessary to register
for it. Rose responded with telling me that she would sponsor me so that I wouldn’t have to
worry about the fee. At that very moment I knew that she wasn’t like most clubs in our area that
are constantly charging you a bunch of fees. A lot of these clubs promise to get you exposure to
colleges but never make an effort to. All they really care about is making their money. With Rose
I knew it was different. Rose had not charged me a dime and even offered to sponsor me so
that I could attend a college camp, and the craziest part about it is that she had only known me
for two weeks and had never really seen how I performed in a match.
That Sunday I met with Rose and about 10 other players that she would be driving in a
van that she had rented. As if sponsoring me for the camp wasn’t enough, she even provided
transportation, just like she does for every game that we play. At the camp I had an amazing
performance but I did not reach out to any of the coaches although I felt like maybe they had
been interested in me. Rose happened to talk to the coaches, one in specific who she has a
good friendship with, Coach Javier Ayala-Hil. Coach Javi is the head coach of the San
Francisco State University soccer team. Javi had some interest in me, and spoke to Rose about
possibly recruiting me for the Spring of 2020. When I heard these news I was speechless. All of
my hard work had finally paid off. But not only that, I couldn’t believe that in the two weeks of
knowing Rose, she had done more for me to get recognized by a university than any other
coach ever had.
As I continue to take courses at Yuba College, I am working on finishing up my A.A. this
upcoming fall to be deemed eligible to transfer to SF State on an athletic scholarship. Thanks to
Coach Rose I will be able to further my education for a minimum to no cost at all. I will also get
to further my soccer career and increase my chances of playing professionally while obtaining
my degree and securing a successful future for myself. Four months later, I continue to attend
Azteca FC trainings and games. Just a couple of weeks ago Coach Javi who also coaches the
SF Glens of the USL 2, formerly the PDL, reached out to me and offered me an opportunity to
play with his team. This to me was a huge opportunity because 70% of all MLS players drafted
since 2010 have had some type of PDL experience. The USL 2 is North America’s top
pre-professional league. It allows players such as myself to play at a pro-like level without losing
college eligibility. These past four months have really helped me expand my soccer career big
time. None of this would have been possible if it weren’t for Coach Rose. She not only has
opened doors for me to obtain an athletic scholarship, but has also explained how scholarships
work, as well as how to apply for other scholarships. Thanks to Rose Shoen, I will not only live
out my dream of playing NCAA soccer, but I will also have a degree by the time my college
soccer career ends. I will forever be grateful for her and when people ask how I did it, I will
always tell them it was a combination of hard work and “The Rose Method”.
Sincerely,
Jose Ramirez