My name is Gilbert Navarro, but everyone knows me as Coach Gil.

Every day I take a train and walk over an hour to get to the field to coach the game I love. 

For the past year I coached semi-pro as a volunteer assistant to gain experience. The restaurant work I depended on vanished that summer. Income gone. Stability gone. I lost my car. None of it stopped me from getting to that field.

My parents came from Mexico looking for a better life. They sacrificed everything to build one. I grew up in a household where hard work was the only currency that mattered.

I couldn't afford to play club soccer like the other kids growing up. So instead of playing, I studied the game. I coached it. I told myself: if my body can't, my mind will.

This year I was accepted into the UEFA B license program in Wales, one of the most respected coaching certifications in the world. It opens professional doors. It opens European clubs, leagues, and pathways that simply aren't accessible without it. More than anything, it proves that someone who started with nothing can make it to the top of this sport.

The program is real, the acceptance is real, and the window is closing. I need $4,000 and I have until May 28th, 2025.

I've already bet everything on myself. I'm just asking you to make that same bet with me.

If you can donate, it means the world. If you can't, sharing this costs nothing and changes everything.

You can read more about my journey here:

https://walthamtimes.org/2025/05/18/waltham-resident-gilbert-navarro-chasing-soccer-coaching-dreams/

Thank you,

Coach Gil