“Cala la Boca!”
Fans and friends call out to each other and Mercer men’s soccer player Diego Leite in his native Portuguese. Francesco Zanin and Eial Marzouk of Italy and Israel direct their team with confidence from their position in the goal.
Head coach Widmarc Dalce, who is originally from Haiti, often times provides direction in English and, at others, gives instruction in one of the many languages that his players speak.
The men of Mercer’s soccer program come from a total of seven different countries and three different continents and work together to overcome the complexities that arise as a result of their linguistic differences.
According to the team roster provided by Mercer Athletics, of the twenty-four players on the men’s soccer team, twenty-one hail from countries outside of the United States. Of that 83% segment of the team, one player is from Jordan, another is from Jamaica, eight are from Brazil, five are from Italy, two are from Israel, and three come from Japan.
During Coach Dalce’s 6-year tenure at Mercer, the men’s soccer team has represented Jordan, Brazil, Jamaica, Italy, Israel, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Canada, Scotland, Australia, Columbia, Venezuela, and Timor-Leste.
Athletic Director John Simone told The VOICE “I think that diversity is a very important thing. The international student athlete tends to be a year or two older, and that year or two means a lot in terms of maturity. It is a maturity both on the field and in the classroom.”
Dalce himself played under former Mercer Men’s soccer coach Charlie Inverso as an international student athlete following his time on the Haitian national team.
Coach Dalce told the VOICE about life as a young man in Haiti, where he played soccer with friends on the street using a ball made from socks and scrap paper. Today, he leads the next generation of high caliber international student athletes at Mercer.
Dalce’s familiarity with life as an international student athlete on Mercer’s campus allows him to more effectively understand these athletes and their lives on and off the field.
Coach Dalce said “I am open to all of them at any time. Even if I am at home. Anytime they need me, I open my door to them.”
He continued, “Most of them are very smart, and they just put [a solution] together themselves and figure out a way to come out of [the situation] …I am always there to give them advice. I use myself as an example to help them out.”
Dalce says he does his best to emphasize what he felt were the strengths of the program when he played for national championship-winning coach Charlie Inverso: team unity and the prioritization of education.
“The classroom is very important to me. This is the first thing I need them to take care of. Without education, I don’t think we can really define who we are,” said Dalce.
For example, goalkeeper Francesco Zanin said “Here in America you have the opportunity to play soccer and study as well … In Italy you don’t have this. You either play soccer or study.”
According to most of the players who spoke to The VOICE, they discovered Mercer through their agents, a concept unfamiliar to many Americans familiar with college sports.
Other players received advice from friends or teammates from their home countries.
Matheus Martins of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for example, said “My friend played here last year, so he gave me some advice- that it was a better place to come in America for soccer and for studying.”
Athletic Director John Simone says, “Every day I will get an e-mail from a student athlete somewhere in the world, and they will have their highlight video.”
The players on the team seem undaunted by the differences that exist between them.
Martins said “I think that soccer connects us, so we don’t look for the differences. When we play soccer we have fun and we work as a family.”
However, life in a new country does not come without difficulties. Several players spoke about the stark contrasts between their lives in their respective home countries and in America from weather to language to general culture.
Goalkeeper Francesco Zanin told The VOICE “It’s totally different [in America]. The way people live, the way people do things, the culture,”
Kotaro Okada said, in the simplest of terms, “It’s hard.” Okada hails from Matsuyama, Japan, which is a 14 hour flight away from New Jersey, according to travelmath.com.
Bar Hengel of Tel Aviv, Israel said “I came after 3 years in the Army, so it’s a little bit hard, but… you need to adjust,”
Despite these challenges, most every player seems satisfied with their choice to attend Mercer.
Forward Oshana Boothe said, with a smile on his face, “I think Mercer for me is like destiny… Mercer became a family for me.”
