Despite his rough upbringing, Eduardo Buenfil, junior midfielder on the San Jose State men’s soccer team, thanked his loved ones and mentors for helping him grow as an athlete and student.
Now in his third year playing for SJSU, Buenfil uses his soccer experience to give back to the San Jose community by teaching private soccer lessons at cheap prices for low income families.
Buenfil said he charges around $40 for a lesson while many other private instructors would charge $80-$100.
If a child’s parents cannot afford the $40 cost, Buenfil negotiates prices so their children can still learn soccer. He also lets siblings train together for the price of a single lesson.
Todd Esrey, a mentor to Buenfil during high school, said teaching is helping Buenfil become a better communicator and
player. Esrey now helps Buenfil teach his clients.
“It is one thing to understand [soccer] for yourself but to be able to share it and express it and manifest it, like he is doing right now, that is another level of mastery,” Esrey said.
Buenfil now has the experience to pass down to future generations, however, there was one point when academics almost kept Buenfil from playing soccer in high school and starting his career in sports.
During the first few weeks of his freshman year at James Lick High School, Buenfil said he was not allowed to play soccer because of his 1.9 GPA.
“It was totally brutal,” Buenfil said.
Esrey said Buenfil struggled with classes during high school, especially English, which is his second language.
“He wasn’t the most gifted kid in a scholastic environment because he was not given that kind of structure growing up,” Esrey said.
Esrey said he tried to teach discipline and structure through soccer and ensure that students excelled in school by getting them involved in after-school programs where they could finish their homework before soccer practices.
“He was basically like my second Dad,” Buenfil said.
Buenfil grew up in East Side San Jose, surrounded by gang violence.
Several of Buenfil’s relatives were in gangs while his extended family lived together in a three room apartment, but they moved out of that neighborhood 8 years ago to escape the violence.
Buenfil has persevered despite growing up surrounded by adversity, violence and drugs, Esrey said.
“His moral fiber is strong,” Esrey said.
Esrey would drive Buenfil to games and practices, take the team to get meals and pay for his trips across the country with the team.
With Esrey’s support, Buenfil gradually improved his academic performance throughout high school, eventually earning a 3.3 GPA in his senior year.
Buenfil’s studies at SJSU have been much more successful than his performance in high school classes, with a 3.1 GPA in
college overall.
After meeting SJSU head coach Simon Tobin at an exhibition game at Davis, Buenfil said he knew that he wanted to come to SJSU and play soccer for him.
“His methodology and his techniques of soccer is unbelievable,” Buenfil said.
Buenfil is now in his third season at San Jose State after 39 career appearances and four goals.
Defender and junior Eddie Saydee said Buenfil did not start in many of his games during the 2018 season, but that he has started playing simpler and demonstrating his versatility in quickly transitioning between defense and offense.
“Right now, it is really hard for the coach to keep him out of the starting 11,” Saydee said.
After taking responsibility for his mistakes, Buenfil learns from them without getting discouraged, Saydee said.
“He makes mistakes and stuff, but he just gets right back,” Saydee said.
After starting his soccer career at SJSU by being too relaxed and not working hard enough, Buenfil now wants to get stronger and more fit.
“I wasn’t like a workhorse,” he said. “I didn’t really like to run.”
Saydee said Buenfil always helps other players improve and that he spent the summer practicing with drills Buenfil had taught him.
Buenfil is one of the hardest working players on the team, Saydee said, but his relaxed body language makes that hard
to guess.
Esrey said Buenfil makes friends wherever he goes, including on opposing teams.
“He truly earns their respect,” Esrey said.
Saydee said he and Buenfil always sit next to each other, watch shows together and order the same drinks on flights to away games.
“Lalo [Buenfil] is a clown,” Saydee said. “He likes to joke around a lot.”
Buenfil’s girlfriend public health senior Rocio Arjon said her favorite thing about Buenfil is his kindness and sense of humor.
“If I am having a bad day, he always finds a positive in that,” Arjon said. “He is always trying to make everyone laugh around him.”
After graduation, Buenfil said he will try to get into a professional soccer team for a few years. If he can’t, then he’ll fall back on a career in public health.
Buenfil will do whatever it takes to play professional soccer, he said.
“I don’t care where I play,” he said.
Players need to work hard and dedicate extra time to soccer in order to play professionally, Buenfil said.
“Where are the other guys?” Buenfil said after a practice, pointing to two Spartans who stayed afterward to continue working on their kicks. “This is the 1% that makes it.”
