The Guadalajara Reporter

Godson lives his dream: from children’s shelter to professional soccer aspirant

Three years ago, a local children’s center was looking for godparents for their charges.  Jim Lloyd and Robin Lawrason wanted to assist and were assigned nine-year-old Dany as their godson.  

They noticed that he rarely smiled until one time he opened his mouth and they saw his crooked teeth.  After a couple of years with a local dentist, Dany’s teeth were straightened and he started to smile regularly. 

The son of the house parents for young boys at the shelter, Dany has long dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player.  Then this past summer Dany, the only boy from Lakeside, was invited to a youth soccer program sponsored by the Chivas team in Guadalajara.  

Last fall Dany had even more to smile about.  He was spotted by a scout from Queretaro and invited to join the professional “Gallos Blancos” (White Roosters) team in that city.   At 14 he is the youngest player on their youth squad of 20.  The boys practice daily and attend school as part of a rigorous athletic and educational program.  Dany, who is left footed, is already a standout.  His team mates call him “el chivo” (the goat) because he runs so fast.

Now separated from his family at Lakeside, Dany, who at one time was afraid to travel on local buses, now manages to ride express buses between Guadalajara and Querétaro, and takes taxis to his team home.  Timid and shy as a nine-year-old, Dany is becoming a confident young man on his way to his dream of being a successful soccer player.   His parents, family and godparents could not be more proud.