Growing up without a father figure, senior Michael Jaimez learned to stand on his own. It was not easy, but joining the West Chicago football team helped him find a brotherhood that encouraged him to keep growing every day.

Transitioning into adulthood can be very difficult for many teens, but in Jaimez’s story, maturity came early. Without his dad – and with his family constantly on the move – he never really had a place he could call home. The frequent moves from place to place led to increased responsibilities, making him more independent.

“It’s hard living with multiple women in the household. I feel like I have more responsibilities: it’s like having to grow up very differently,” Jaimez said.

When Jaimez was just about eight years old, his dad moved to Indiana. They kept in contact for most of the time that his father was away. After a while of keeping in contact with his dad, he heard that his father was constantly getting in and out of trouble. This led to his father serving time in jail for a year. Despite everything that happened, Jaimez still remembers his father as a hard worker.

“What he did was honestly messed up, but like everyone has their reasons why they do stuff,” Jaimez said.

Despite his father’s absence, Jaimez always had his mom and older sister by his side. His mother remains one of his biggest inspirations.

“My mother, because everything she’s gone through, she’s had to support me and my sister growing up, since it’s always just been us three, and she’s always pushed us to be our best,” Jaimez said.

Jaimez shares a close bond with his sister as well, but he hardly sees her because they each have busy lives. The only time they really get to hang out is at work. His sister, Estefania Bonilla, is his manager at McDonald’s.

“Sometimes it’s good that she’s my manager. But sometimes she gets mad, and then I get mad too,” Jaimez said.

While Jaimez feels blessed to have his mother and sister by his side, it was when he decided to join the West Chicago Community High School football team in his sophomore year that he found a group of strangers who eventually became some of his closest friends. Jaimez joined the team after his friends joined during their freshman year and encouraged him to try it as well. The other players discussed how good the coaches were and shared their positive experiences playing football. After Jaimez checked out the program, he felt at home and started his determined journey to be a good football player.

“Everyone wants to start something new. It’s always a challenge, you know, especially because you’re learning something new. And how our coach, one of our coaches, Coach David Niolek, says, ‘Be comfortable with being uncomfortable,’” Jaimez said.

During his time playing, he faced several challenges. In his junior year, he felt like quitting the team because he hurt one of his knees while playing against Joliet Central.

“It was the first offensive snap of the game. I came in and, well, the whole starting defense came in, and it was a run. So I tried to, like, play half the man in front of me, but when that happened, I false-stepped, and then somebody hit my knee, and my knee buckled weirdly,” Jaimez said.

Teammate Isaiah Sylvester described Jaimez as a dedicated player who was always looking for ways to improve.

“He is very hardworking, loves to make you think about what you did wrong and how you can fix it, and is an all-around gentleman,” Sylvester said.

Although there were moments where Jaimez felt like giving up, he now says he misses the practices he had with the team, where they would all just goof off, and most importantly, the team bonding.

“[I miss] all the dedication I put in, not only during the season but also during the off-season, when we were lifting and conditioning. I always tried pushing everybody to be their best,” Jaimez said.

Although his football career at WEGO has come to an end, the lessons he learned from the sport remain. The game provided more than competition—it gave him structure, friendships and a sense of belonging during some of the most important years of his life.