Mayra Ordiales
Mayra is a teacher at Royal Green Elementary School in Miami, FL. She has a son and a daughter who have both participated in team sports throughout their lives, as well as doing the same herself. Growing up into a family of 4 older boys, Mayra spent most of her days in the streets playing ball with her cousins and brother and the neighborhood kids. Although she obviously doesn't play anymore, it is obvious that those days in the streets shaped her to be the teacher, wife, and mother she is today.
"I know how important physical activity is, especially to kids still growing... I try to get the kids as involved as possible into sports.," Mayra tells. Being an elementary school teacher, a mother of two, and given her days on her very own "sandlot", she knows how important being involved in sports and being physically active are. As an elementary school teacher, she tries to get the kids outside as much as possible for a variety of reasons. The health benefits are an obvious incentive, but she also knows of the importance of the kids getting out there and bonding over the games. Although a lot of those kids may not be enrolled in any kind of team sports, she is giving them an advantage by letting them learn about them at school. "It's one of the easiest things to teach at school. These kids are young, and most of them don't care to be here and don't feel like learning, the typical child mentality. But with the outside time they get, they are learning so much and they don't even know it - all I have to do is let them play." She says that over the course of the year, these kids learn some valuable skills such as leadership. She mentions that some of the kids take a leadership role to be able to keep the game flowing. They also learn honesty; when there is a close play that typically would drive the opposing teams against each other in a heated argument of 'out vs. safe' or 'foul vs. no foul', the kids comport themselves in a humane manner and give their honest opinion, rather than skewing their perspective for the benefit of the team they're playing for.
Although teaching is a big part of her life, Mayra's life revolves around her family. Being a typical Hispanic mother, the family unit is very important to her, and she tries to spend as much time with her kids, nieces, nephews, and her second children - that's me! - as possible. Being the first of her generation on my dad's side of the family to have a kid, she lead by example by enrolling her first-born, Tommy, into a soccer league at the age of four. I came in a little bit over a year later than Tommy, and I had the same done with me. Again Mayra knew how important sports are to the developing child, and she took advantage of the opportunity to speed up the development of her kid's essential characteristics and traits he was bound to learn, just at a much later time. She did the same with her daughter, Kristina, who came along three years after Tommy. She enrolled her into a local gymnastics training center, and again my parents followed the example by enrolling my sister, Natalie, into gymnastics at the age of three. Eventually, Patty and Eddie would have Danny, and they too would follow the precedent. I know that I can speak for at least the oldest of the kids (the ones who understand the benefits) when I say how grateful we are for the opportunity to learn and develop at such a young age.
"I know how important physical activity is, especially to kids still growing... I try to get the kids as involved as possible into sports.," Mayra tells. Being an elementary school teacher, a mother of two, and given her days on her very own "sandlot", she knows how important being involved in sports and being physically active are. As an elementary school teacher, she tries to get the kids outside as much as possible for a variety of reasons. The health benefits are an obvious incentive, but she also knows of the importance of the kids getting out there and bonding over the games. Although a lot of those kids may not be enrolled in any kind of team sports, she is giving them an advantage by letting them learn about them at school. "It's one of the easiest things to teach at school. These kids are young, and most of them don't care to be here and don't feel like learning, the typical child mentality. But with the outside time they get, they are learning so much and they don't even know it - all I have to do is let them play." She says that over the course of the year, these kids learn some valuable skills such as leadership. She mentions that some of the kids take a leadership role to be able to keep the game flowing. They also learn honesty; when there is a close play that typically would drive the opposing teams against each other in a heated argument of 'out vs. safe' or 'foul vs. no foul', the kids comport themselves in a humane manner and give their honest opinion, rather than skewing their perspective for the benefit of the team they're playing for.
Although teaching is a big part of her life, Mayra's life revolves around her family. Being a typical Hispanic mother, the family unit is very important to her, and she tries to spend as much time with her kids, nieces, nephews, and her second children - that's me! - as possible. Being the first of her generation on my dad's side of the family to have a kid, she lead by example by enrolling her first-born, Tommy, into a soccer league at the age of four. I came in a little bit over a year later than Tommy, and I had the same done with me. Again Mayra knew how important sports are to the developing child, and she took advantage of the opportunity to speed up the development of her kid's essential characteristics and traits he was bound to learn, just at a much later time. She did the same with her daughter, Kristina, who came along three years after Tommy. She enrolled her into a local gymnastics training center, and again my parents followed the example by enrolling my sister, Natalie, into gymnastics at the age of three. Eventually, Patty and Eddie would have Danny, and they too would follow the precedent. I know that I can speak for at least the oldest of the kids (the ones who understand the benefits) when I say how grateful we are for the opportunity to learn and develop at such a young age.