Dear Toca Parents, Players and friends,

We wanted to share the thoughts of one of our Club Founders, Christian Noguera, who is also a Doctor and has been very active with his practice and new protocols that keep changing every day while we all try to learn and keep up with this Pandemic.

Keep in mind these are his personal thoughts and points of view. Please disregard this email if you are tired of reading about this Pandemic. We all have discussions around the table every day regarding this unique disease and its spread around the world so maybe these points could be discussed and/or help you understand the situation as well. These are ideas that you can share with your children. But as always you are the parents so it is your call.

1. Life is not always fun and this Pandemic is really one of those times where we have to overcome difficulties and challenges as we have always done during those difficult soccer games. I am sure most parents will have unique stories from their own experiences and/or family member's and sharing them with each other will help us remember that we will win this "game" and the entire season even though the score is not in our favor now.

2. We will get thru this tunnel like we have finished all the games and seasons because there is NO other option and we will look backwards and learn a lot. This is not a game without end, it will be over sooner rather than later and it will help the future of medicine and your future since you will be prepared for the next Pandemic much better than we were today and your success and score will be significantly better than ours so you should pay close attention to everything that is happening right now.

3. Practice makes a difference but also be ready for the next Pandemic because this is an easy team that we are competing against. But we did not practice very well before so we are not prepared. Hopefully you will be in much better shape to compete than we were since we did not listen to our coaches but we will listen to you in the near future as you will do things differently for sure.

4. Team work is essential and the final results will depend on the quality of the entire team, we need to work as a team to win this game all together with every single player (health professionals) and the crowd to needs to allow them to play the game. We need to keep our distance from the bench and be positive so they can do their work. They will finish the game soon and we will all be able to celebrate together.

5. This is a great time and opportunity to practice at home on your own. For soccer: watch soccer videos, old games and practice those moves at home. And this is true for your schoolwork, instruments and other extracurriculars.

6. Learn how to share with your family as you share the ball during the games: share the TV, the video games and/or the controls... and watch that movie that your brother picked even though you might not be that interested or like as much because you are a team player and tomorrow you will be able to watch your movie. Sometimes you need to play in that position on the field that you are not as good or don't like but you will do it for the team and your family.

7. Learn to tolerate other people in your environment as you are always able to tolerate that player that could miss a penalty. Tolerance is a great skill that will allow you to grow stronger and you will be happy that they will tolerate your mistakes in the near future.

8. Communicate with your siblings and parents positively like you always do during the games. If you are going to say something bad don't say anything. Don't worry: your sibling and/or your parents will do the dishes tomorrow and/or clean the kitchen. Today they didn't so you can do it. No need to complain.

9. Say thank you every day because you are so lucky to have a great family and great teammates that are waiting to see you in a few weeks. Say thank you to your parents for taking great care of you every single day because they are worried but they are also thankful that this virus is not affecting so many young people.

10. Create space.... how many times we talk that space is one of the most important aspects of the game and sometimes people in your house need some space today.

11. Don't blame anyone and don't be disappointed with this situation, we are learning to give you the best for your future. We are never disappointed how you play and we are never disappointed with your performance so don't be disappointed with this game. We are trying to do the best we can to get you back to your normal lives and a much more fun game every minute and every day. We also want to see you play again.

12. Realize now how much you love your family, soccer team and friends.

13. Be helpful as you have always been after each practice with your coaches and your teammates. Your parents, siblings, maybe your neighbors and the health care system needs your help.

14. Understand that good higiene (washing your hands), good habits (no smoking, no vaping) good eating habits (no diabetes) and playing sports (no hypertension) will make you stronger to compete against the next Pandemic and you can control them all at your age so your risk will be significantly better.

15. Last but not least there may be good evidence after we do all the math and this Pandemic is over that the environment was also a great help. So take care of your environment because it will make a difference.

16. You will remember this season and these difficult times your entire lives. So be kind to each other because this will shape your future and the future of your team you will choose to be with.

Last but not least we love you and so do your teammates and we can't wait to see you again at practice and at the soccer field. As always, PLAY SIMPLE. We are here for you if you have any questions or concerns.

We are standing by and paying attention to the news about when we can go back to play the beautiful game.