ESPN Visits Bolivia

When the national sports channel ESPN began its five-part series on sports around the world, I wondered which country they would visit in South America. Coming up after the commercial break, ESPN would travel to Bolivia and visit the famed Tahuichi Academy in Santa Cruz. That was my answer.

Not often does Bolivia receive such mainstream national attention for something not involving riots, protests or the drug war. So I was anxious to see how Bolivia and their obsession with futbol would be presented. The commentator would joke that the one thing that many people know about Bolivia was when Mike Tyson, not known for his vocabulary ease, said after losing to Lennox Lewis that he will "fade into Bolivia" (when he meant oblivion).

The piece focused on Americans that attend the Tahuichi soccer Academy and the unusual training methods used. The relatively higher costs (2 week session costs $2100) for this camp helps pay for the thousands of poor Bolivians that get to attend the other school. For example, these Americans run and jump in the Rio Pirai and run up sand dunes as a way to build endurance. These teenagers said they learned not to take things for granted, when seeing their Bolivian counterparts utilizing torn shoes or flat soccer balls.

Unfortunately the piece was relatively short. I wish they would have interviewed Marco Etcheverry or Jaime Moreno, two graduates of the regular academy, who have gone on to star with DC United.