<\/p>\n
Near the end of an practice on the Montezuma-Cortez High School soccer field last August, Jelson Yanez stood near a goalpost and quivered with fatigue. Sweat dripped from the senior\u2019s face and his legs shook with exhaustion.<\/p>\n
Despite his tired muscles, the senior pushed forward however, utilizing a unique inner strength that he developed while growing up in Honduras, which, an average per capita income of $600 dollars per year, ranks among the most impoverished nations in North America.<\/p>\n
First-world amenities were far from a given in Yanez\u2019s home city of Flores de Italia and with gangs roaming the streets and shootings a common occurrence, bodily safety was far from guaranteed.<\/p>\n
One of 12 children born to Spanish-speaking parents, Yanez began playing soccer at a young age and because of a rare combination of size and speed, he instantly excelled as a goal scoring forward at the local fields on which he played.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoccer is the main sport in Honduras,\u201d Yanez said. \u201cThe level of soccer is good, but it\u2019s not like in other countries like Spain or Brazil. It was the sport that I played growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
After spending the majority of his youth and three of his teenage years in his home country, Yanez moved, along with his mother and several siblings, to Cortez during his sophomore year of high school.<\/p>\n
Not especially proficient in English, yet exceptionally bright and willing to learn, Yanez immediately caught the eye of several teachers, who instantly appreciated their young pupil\u2019s hard work and dedication.<\/p>\n
Even with his success in the classroom however, Yanez\u2019s life in Southwest Colorado was far from easy as he initially grappled with the language barrier and the unfamiliarity of small-town life.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, when I came (to Cortez) the first time, I didn\u2019t like it,\u201d Yanez said. \u201cIt is a much smaller town than what I am used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Searching for something familiar to occupy his time, Yanez elected to join the M-CHS soccer team, which at the time was coached by Sean Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n
Playing alongside several other Spanish-speaking players, including Jesus Ruiz and Mannie Martinez, and instantly bonding with his new head coach, Yanez became increasingly comfortable. By the end of the season, he had become one of his team\u2019s most reliable defenders.<\/p>\n
Yanez went on to record a goal and an assist during his junior season before scoring another goal and putting 10 shots on goal during his senior year. In addition to his shooting prowess, Yanez emerged as a team leader thanks to his nonstop hustle and physical style of play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m playing as good as I could because the style here is different, and it\u2019s hard for me to communicate with my teammates because of my English,\u201d Yanez said. \u201cI just try to work hard and give 100 percent to my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to his accomplishments on the soccer field, Yanez has brought a special flair to the classroom, where he excels in science classes, including anatomy and biology.<\/p>\n
Asked about his plans for the future, Yanez said that he is planning to return to Honduras after his high school graduation to begin studying at the National Autonomous University of Honduras in hopes of one day becoming a cardiologist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to help people, and my country needs a lot of help,\u201d Yanez explained. \u201cThe political situation is not good. Our leader is almost like a dictator, and he is not helping the country. There are a lot of gangs and a lot of killings, so there is a need for doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Between now and the time that he departs Cortez, Yanez plans to cherish his time with his mother and siblings, who, together, provide support and meaning in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily is very important to me,\u201d Yanez said. \u201cI can do anything because of them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Honduras native Jelson Yanez crosses boundaries, contributes to team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36,29,845,346],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-69338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school","tag-newsletter","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69338"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=69338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}