'A universal language': Booker T. Washington boys soccer team experiences Brazil

The Booker T. Washington boys soccer team recently visited a city some 4,500 miles away in a different continent.

It was a trip that Booker T. head coach Felipe Lawall has done three times before with different soccer teams, one he calls “The Brazilian Soccer Experience,” where he schedules games against local teams in Brazil and brings his players, and some parents and other family members, to different tourist attractions.

This time, it was over the Wildcats’ Thanksgiving break and over 50 people went on the trip. There were also a couple local players that Coach Lawall coaches on area club soccer teams.

In Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the primary language is Portuguese. And a majority of the Wildcats speak English. Junior Felipe Lawall – the eldest son of Coach Lawall, who hails from Sorocaba, Brazil – does speak Portuguese.

And while in Brazil, at the complex that the team stayed in, there was an Brazilian academy team that lives full-time at the complex – which features futsal courts plus turf soccer fields. And Coach Lawall noted that it was unlikely any of those local soccer players spoke any English.

Sure, with the wonders of smartphones and different translation apps, it was probably easy for the two teams to converse and start up soccer games at night after full days of excursions for the Wildcats. And yes, the younger Lawall was able to help translate in a pinch.

But, at the end of the day, no words needed to be spoken when playing soccer.

“(With) the language of soccer, it was enough to communicate for all of them,” Coach Lawall said. “That’s the coolest thing about it.”

“It’s just beautiful. That’s a good word for it,” said Kyle Hunnicutt, a senior for the Wildcats. “You can go anywhere in the world and play soccer, and everyone knows how to play. … It was fun.”

The lack of spoken word also gave the Wildcats an understanding as to just how important the sport of soccer is to Brazil, Coach Lawall said. In Belo Horizonte alone, there are three professional soccer teams that play in Brazil’s top professional league.

Not only do the players get to see some top quality soccer, but they also get to experience their coach’s culture first-hand. “It’s another good way for them to see where I come from,” Coach Lawall added.

“They focus (on soccer) right when they’re out the womb,” Felipe said.

‘The culture side of things’

Yes, the players love the soccer aspect of the trip to Brazil. While there, the group got to visit one of the stadiums that was used in the 2014 FIFA World Cup – the same stadium that Brazil lost to Germany in, to Coach Lawall’s visible dismay when talking about it.

They got to walk around the museum, and during the tour, visited the locker room, warm up room and walked up to the field. Freshman Landon Rhymer said that was one of the highlights of the trip for him.

But the group also went to different tourist attractions, such as a few different churches and a gold mine. That’s what, Coach Lawall believes, the parents on the tour appreciate a bit more – the culture.

“The parents maybe appreciate the culture side of things a little bit more than the kids, because of the museums and other tourism places, learning about the history of the city, the state,” Coach Lawall said. “The kids are so focused on the soccer part and they love it, but the parents appreciate that side of the trip as well.”

Of course, the Brazilian cuisine throughout the trip is just an added bonus. That included several restaurants that were buffet-style. Most had fresh fruit which resulted in fresh juices.

There was also an all-you-can-eat pizza place with upward of 50 types of pizza – unique styles, as well. Both Hunnicutt and Felipe noted their favorite was the chocolate and strawberry pizza, while Felipe added he enjoyed the chicken and catupiry (a cream dairy spread native to Brazil). Coach Lawall and Rhymer both said their top choice was the shrimp pizza.

“One restaurant was filled with mango trees, and the boys were like, ‘I guarantee the mangos from these trees,’” Coach Lawall said. “They loved the fresh fruit and fresh juice.”

‘There, soccer is life’

Coach Lawall scheduled three games for his players while in Brazil. The varsity team won the first game, but lost the second and third games. Things were close in the second contest, but the Wildcats “ran out of gas,” Coach Lawall noted on Facebook in his daily recaps, before falling 2-0.

The third game was an 4-0 loss to one of the top professional youth academies in the city – something that Coach Lawall anticipates.

“I schedule two competitive games, and one not-so-competitive game to give (the kids) a shock of reality, to see what the level (of play) is down there,” Coach Lawall said with a smile.

Felipe said Booker T. played their best soccer while in Brazil, elevating their play to the level of the teams they played against. He’s hoping that translates to success back in Florida for the 2023-24 season.

“I wouldn’t say it was good that we lost, but it helped us open our eyes as to what we should do,” Felipe said. “We know how to play, we know how to lose, so it helps us be better at winning.”

Thanks to the accessibility of soccer fields and futsal courts at the complex that the Booker T. group stayed at, soccer was played virtually every night for hours on end.

The Wildcats played futsal alongside the academy players – from the America-MG Academy – where players divided up among each other, so that it wasn’t just academy players against Booker T. players.

Hunnicutt joked that it was incredible to watch some of those players, who were 10 or 11 years old, and the talent they possess.

“They’re coming back and forth, going backwards from the goal, trying to meg us and humiliate us. … They’ll start off in futsal, so their foot skills are so much better,” Felipe said. “A lot of kids, every time they wanted to talk, they’d have me translate. But they would talk to each other by just playing soccer. … Soccer’s a universal language.”

“They take it a lot differently over there,” Hunnicutt said. “There, soccer is life, compared to here.”

The Booker T. players eventually got to go to one of the academy's games and support their new soccer friends – and the language barrier made no difference.

"That was a cool thing that they did," Coach Lawall said. "In general, it’s literally a lifetime experience."

A greater appreciation

Between experiencing the Brazilian culture and playing soccer, there’s one thing that happens behind the scenes for all the players – and it’s something Coach Lawall made sure to emphasize.

The players, when they return to their homes in Florida, have a bigger appreciation for what they have in terms of soccer. At practice during the week, Feliple noted that some players might complain that the Wildcats’ practice field – adjacent to their stadium behind the high school – might be a little too bumpy.

Felipe, when talking about the Brazilian field conditions, also pointed out a small patch of sand with grass poking out near a walking path heading to the Booker T. practice fields. “That’s basically what some teams are playing on,” he added.

Coach Lawall said there’s some teams in Brazil that play on carpet-like turf or uneven fields, and sometimes the “goals barely have nets.”

“Most of the high schools here, we have nice grass, and all the fields are super nice. When they play travel ball, most of the places they go, the complexes are nice,” Coach Lawall said. “They see how good they have it here. … I think that’s where the appreciation comes from. Those kids come from literally nothing. Some are playing barefoot, or in two different cleats.”

It’s as simple as a pair of black cleats that Felipe was wearing that “mesmerized” some Brazilian players.

“It makes us more appreciative of how good we have it,” Felipe said.

“You see kids that don’t have shoes on that are playing, and their fields are half-put together with weeds,” Hunnicutt said. “We’re all a lot more appreciative now.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Booker T. Washington boys soccer team experiences Brazilian culture, soccer