Discipline. An essential part of being successful, in soccer and in life. No one is a better example of this than the West Chicago girl’s soccer coach, Cesar Gomez.

Gomez started coaching for WEGO 24 years ago, and continues to give back to his community today. In doing so, he affects the lives of many athletes. 

“My desire is that I impact the people I encounter, and I want them to know that I care without me telling them,” Gomez said. 

Gomez has helped countless girls move on to play in college, allowing them to continue their soccer career there.                                                                                                 

Alumna Daisy Garcia, who is currently a sophomore in college and playing soccer at Judson University, expressed her gratitude for Gomez, whom she claims taught her many valuable lessons. 

“There are many lessons that Cesar taught me during my four years at West Chicago. One thing he would ALWAYS tell me was “the best players make everyone around them better”. I always keep that in the back of my head now whether that’s on or off the field – just always helping people to become better,” Garcia said. 

Another alumna of WEGO, Barbie Castellanos, who is in her senior year of college soccer, is grateful to Gomez for helping her become who she is today.

“My candle in high school never burnt out because of how much attention to detail he paid, as well as his dedication. He corrected my touch, my shot, my work rate, and most importantly, my mentality. I will forever cherish Cesar Gomez, he will always be that coach that turned into family for me,” Castellanos said.

Gomez continued to explain his coaching philosophy, as well as some essential values for himself and his athletes. 

“You will know that I care about you as a person first, and then a player. And when you the player, know that I care about you as a person, then the rest is easy, and I always use that for me to be effective in your life and coaching,” Gomez said.

Before arriving in the US and coaching soccer, Gomez lived in Paraguay. He spent most of his childhood there, being raised by his grandmother and father. Gomez was introduced to soccer through the military, where he would learn one of the most important lessons in his life – discipline.

“The military wants you to be a model in everything that you do. So I would say that they shaped my life and discipline. And without discipline, nothing works,” Gomez said

After returning from the military, Gomez played in several local and regional leagues for Paraguay, and continued to play until he moved to the US.

“It was hard to come to the US, because I came here at age 24, and Paraguay is a bilingual country, they speak Guaranί and Spanish. I already had those, and I had a little bit of English, but not enough to carry a conversation – so that was probably the biggest challenge for me,” Gomez said. 

After moving, Gomez became an electrician and assistant soccer coach for Wheaton College, where he would help the women’s team win three NCAA Division III Championships in 2004, 2006, and 2007.

Through coaching at Wheaton, Gomez met some incredible people including Head Coach Pete Felske, who recognized his commitment and devotion to people around him.

“One of the things I appreciate most about Cesar is his loyalty; to his fellow coaching staff, his program and his players. Anyone that works with him day in and day out realizes that he is 100% committed to working with fellow coaches to get the most out of his players, regardless of ability or playing time. Most importantly, players also see the time and effort that he invests to help them become the best they can be off the field as well,” Felske said. 

Gomez’s connection to the community doesn’t stop with coaching. His wife, Lisa, taught Spanish at WEGO, and his kids walked the halls of West Chicago as students.  

When Gomez is not coaching, he enjoys helping other people through acts of service. An example of this is when Gomez sends boxes of clothes for people in need in Paraguay. They receive practical items such as  t-shirts, shorts, sweaters, water bottles. Gomez recalls what inspired him to start doing this, and it is a powerful illustration of how a small act of kindness can go a long way. When he was a kid, an American man traveled to Paraguay to work on a project that would help to prevent the spread of disease. 

He gave Gomez a piece of gum.

“I think that is what inspired me to give back. I can almost taste the flavor of that gum still. A guy who had no idea who I was gave me something without me asking for it,” Gomez said. 

To this day, Gomez continues to send boxes, and recruits his athletes to help out.

Along with sending boxes to Paraguay, Gomez has also partnered with Wheaton College to help with “The Honduras Project”, which is a project that has helped many villages have a source of accessible and clean drinking water.

“Every household in the village will have running water, because in Honduras, people who don’t have that need to walk at least 8 hours to get drinkable water, because of pollution,” Gomez said. 

Many people do not realize Gomez is also a Spotify artist who plays a traditional style of Paraguayan music called “Polka.” “Polka” is described as a vibrant and spirited genre that consists of guitar, harmonica, and is accompanied by the Paraguayan harp. 

“My dad was a poet, and I found all his poetry and put it into my music,” Gomez said.

This March, however, he will step back from music creation ever so slightly to redirect his attention back to soccer. He is already looking forward to the start of the girls’ season.

“I’m looking forward to the fact that every year is different, because there is going to be a new crowd of people who are going to be rising to the top,” Gomez said. 

Gomez is a hardworking coach, and is committed to making his athletes better players, but most importantly, better people, which will help fuel the next generation of athletes to be disciplined and successful. 

A recent alumna, Natalie Fernandez who is playing soccer while studying at Aurora University, wanted to give a special thank to her former coach.

“I would thank Cesar for always pushing me to improve and never letting me stay content with my abilities. This constant push made me believe I could do more. Thank you for teaching me that being uncomfortable is the root to growth and thank you, Cesar, for always striving to be the best version of yourself and for being a great coach and person,” Fernandez said.