Alejandro Rivas had a passion for playing football and basketball with his friends, as well as watching sports while at home. When he wasn't at school, Alejandro was an avid bike rider, skateboarder, and roller skater who also enjoyed fishing at local ponds and rivers.
But above all, Alejandro loved soccer.
“Ale’s love for soccer was very well-known throughout the grade,” said Alejandro’s 4th grade teacher at Garfield Elementary School, Samantha Shea. “Mrs. Lyon, another 4th grade teacher, told me that her favorite memory of Ale was that he would play soccer at recess as the goalie and that he would always change teams halfway through to help out the losing team.”
Tragically, Alejandro passed away on February 19 of this year after a brief illness.
Recently, Garfield School Elementary honored the late 4th grader with “The Rivas Cup” Memorial Soccer Tournament.
“Alejandro’s passing was so sudden and tragic; it was important to me that we found a way to honor him as a 4th grade community,” said Shea. “It got me thinking that playing soccer was a great way to honor Ale, not just because he loved it but because he showed such strength of character when he played it. After that, the pieces started coming together.”
When speaking to Alejandro’s classmates about the Rivas Cup, Shea said they were all immediately on board.
“I think it was important for them to have an opportunity to do something for their friend,” said Shea. “We spoke a lot about how to support each other during the tournament, and they really rose to the occasion.”
Shea said that through the memorial tournament, the school was able to raise enough funds to purchase t-shirts, new pop-up soccer goals, and some rubber bracelets for each student to remember the special day.
“I’m lucky that I have such an amazing 4th grade team that helped me plan this event from scratch—especially Mrs. Lyon, who pressed the logo on 120 individual t-shirts,” said Shea. “School Committee member John Kingston was kind enough to donate brand new soccer balls, plenty of water, and snacks for the entire grade level, and a parent, Stephen Livingston, brought his DJ equipment to play some music for us while we played. My husband is a certified soccer referee, and he came to help us out as well. We are lucky that we had so many resources to pull from to help us make this event come together.”
Shea added that every single student participated, some of them playing soccer for the very first time because they wanted to try it for Alejandro.
“I know Alejandro’s family was grateful that we put such a large event together for him, but it was really our honor,” she said.
See more photos here.