By Moses Leos III

As a bus driver working for Hays CISD, Jose Ramos had a dream of playing soccer on the pitch at Gregg-Clarke Park every time he drove by it.

With a kick of a ball Thursday, Ramos and many other soccer players’ dreams will become reality.

Kyle will be home to a new semi-professional soccer team this fall as the Central Texas Lobos, a part of the Texas Premier Soccer League, will play their inaugural season at Gregg-Clarke Park.

Ramos, hired as the semi-professional team’s first head coach, hopes the team can be an asset for the Hays County community. 

“It’s not just a soccer team that’s going to play every weekend and then say, ‘let’s go home,” Ramos said. “We’re going to try to give that opportunity … for people to play professional soccer.”

Kyle City Manager Scott Sellers, who participated in Thursday’s welcoming ceremonies, said sports teams are “great economic development drivers.”

He said traveling teams will stay in hotels and shop in stores and restaurants.  An additional benefit, Sellers said, could be an addition of hotels to the area as a result of the soccer team.

The city has two hotels currently open, with two more hotels slated to open within the next calendar year.

“Every time there is a home game where the visiting team comes, it generates revenue to the city,” Sellers said. “It brings another tourism and local event driver.”

Kyle, which partnered with Zuzeca ASC out of Austin to bring the team to the city, could also host soccer tournaments during the course of the year.

Economic development generation could occur if the city were to host a tournament, Sellers said. He said in many cases, tournaments could cover the cost of building infrastructure to host them. The city is looking to make Kyle a “home base” for soccer tournaments, which could mean the addition of more soccer fields, Sellers said.

Currently, the city is working on immediate improvements at Gregg-Clarke Park to house the Lobos.  Those include the addition of bleachers at the field, along with improving light structures.

Local semi-professional soccer would provide the community an option to have a “good time,” Ramos said. That could include the possibility of alcohol sales at games.

“They can come over on the weekend, have a good time and enjoy the games,” Ramos said.

While developing players ages 18 to 24 is also the focus for the team, the Lobos gives local talent a chance to show what they’ve got.

The Lobos’ season runs from September through March and travels across the state to play other squads. Players will also have the chance to be seen by scouts from Major League Soccer (MLS), Mexico’s top tier soccer league, Liga MX, and small universities and colleges.

In addition, the Lobos will field an academy level for players 13- to 15-years-old.

Within the academy level, the team will be able to work with players to develop their skills. Ramos said the focus is to ensure players don’t get “blindsided” by academies or clubs which have been working for “years and years.”’

“Our thing is to get them together and play soccer and have fun. That’s the main purpose,” Ramos said.

The Lobos also look to work closely with local soccer clubs, such as Hays Fusion and San Marcos Search. Ramos said the club would have an open door policy.

“We want to work with the community,” Ramos said. “It’s not just for us.”

Eli Guajardo, who played soccer at Lehman High and will be a part of the CTL Lobos, said the prospect of semi-pro soccer in Kyle was an “incredible” opportunity.

Having competitive soccer for the next generation of athletes is something Guajardo said he is looking forward to.

“I just want to help the community take it to the next level,” Guajardo said. “We just need fans…we’re looking for support.”

Want to be a Lobo?

Tryouts will be held July 23 at Gregg-Clarke Park in Kyle.