Alexsandro Antunes is lucky to have a lot of people around him who care.
He’s even luckier to have someone who cares for him so much whom he doesn’t see every day.
But he certainly does stay close.
Antunes is a senior on the Frankford High School soccer team, and he moved to the Castor Gardens with his dad shortly before entering high school.
While he has a lot of family and friends in the United States, and he’s thankful for each and every one of them, he’s just as thankful for the daily calls he gets from back home.
“I miss my mom a lot, she is still in Brazil, I’m here with my dad,” said Antunes, who can play anywhere on the field but enjoys midfield. “I have leaders from my church and my older sister here, too, so I have a lot of people who care about me here. I’m very thankful for all of them and for all they do.
“But I do miss my mom. I know she’ll be here in time. I talk to her every day. I talk to her before every game. She texts me, ‘Son, just do your best. I know you can do it.’ It means a lot, she helps me with so much. She definitely helps me a lot.”
Sounds like mom could be a pretty good soccer coach, too, because she is right about her son doing it. He is more than doing it.
Antunes has been playing soccer for about a decade. He started playing in Brazil, and when he first took to the pitch, he was mostly a defender.
Then after some time on the back, Antunes moved to the midfield, where he found his favorite position.
He did a little bit of everything, but when he became a Pioneer, he saw most time in the midfield. But this year because the team needed some scoring, Antunes has moved to attack, where he leads Frankford’s offense.
“My main position is midfield, but they asked me to play up top and I want to do whatever I can to help the team,” said Antunes, who scored four goals in Frankford’s first two games of the season, nearly half of his total from a year ago when he finished with nine tallies. “My goal for the games is to score. I love doing it, I think scoring is the most important part of the game. You need a great goaltender, a great defense and a great midfield, but the way a team can be better of the best is by scoring. It’s a huge part of the game, and it is hard to do. I think having a good offense is very important. So I like playing it even if it isn’t my favorite position.”
Antunes has the Pioneers headed in the right direction.
The team started off with victories in its first two contests.
“Frankford is doing great, we’ve had a much better team, I’ve been here the past three years and we get better every year,” Antunes said. “I know our coach Jonathan Michels told us that Frankford was one of the best schools for soccer. They were very good.
“I want to do that again. I want Frankford to become one of those top teams and get into the playoffs and let everyone know how good we are. This is my last year, and we have gotten better as a team every year.”
Antunes is hoping he can continue to help the Pioneers by scoring as many goals as possible. He’s also willing to play anywhere else to help the Pioneers with his soccer skills.
He’s also looking forward to helping the team in other ways.
“I love that I’m a captain,” Antunes said. “I love it. Sometimes I don’t like it because you’re responsible for everyone, but it’s good for me.
“It’s helping me. And I can help the team. I can help the coach. I like it. I see the other guys look up to me a little bit, I think so. I can talk in English and I can talk in Spanish. There’s a lot who speak Spanish, so I can help everyone. I think that helps make me a better leader. And I love leading this team.”
He couldn’t have a better relationship with everyone associated with the Pioneers, coaches and players.
He also has a great relationship with people away from soccer.
“My family is very close to me and the leaders at my church are always there for me as well,” said Antunes, who hopes to play college soccer and is eyeing Holy Family as a potential landing spot. “I’m from Brazil, my English isn’t that good, but I think the most important part is God. I think he helped me a lot, he made me a leader. God has been a huge part of my journey. I’m lucky to be where I am.”
