Eileen Majeski answered her phone one day last fall to hear a 10-year-old voice on the other end with a simple request.
"Hi. I want to play soccer," came the inquiry.
As the registrar for the Fort Lowell Soccer Club, Majeski is accustomed to receiving some interesting questions, but this was a first.
"I told him the fee was $175 and he asked, 'Do you offer scholarships?'" Majeski recalled. "It's funny; I've never had a child ask me for a scholarship before. It's always been a parent."
But Zakariya Mohamed's parents couldn't ask. They don't speak English.
So Zakariya, part of a family of 10 that came to the U.S. from Kenya four years ago, took things into his own hands.
"Zak was very persistent in wanting to play," said Alain Hartmann, Mohamed's coach on the U-11 Torpedos. "He must have called Eileen a dozen times. He was very professional, very polite and just a very dedicated player."
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Likewise, Hartmann is a very dedicated coach.
He picks up Zakariya and his brothers Ahmed, 16, and Muktar, 14, takes them to games and practices and returns them home each day. Ahmed is a volunteer assistant coach on the team. Muktar comes for moral support.
"It was really important to have a good, strong player with such a good attitude," Hartmann said of Zakariya. "And then the help of his brother (Ahmed), it really kind of turned our team and got it in the right direction."
The Torpedos had only six players one week before the fall season, but things came together and the team fielded 11 for the first game.
Zakariya plays midfield, but Hartmann has used him as a striker and goalie, too. He's the fastest player on the team and has excelled in each position he's tried.
The Torpedos went 5-0-1 in the first half of the season, prompting the club to move the team up a flight, from Bronze to Silver.
Zakariya, who attends Bonillas Elementary School, is already asking about moving up to the Gold flight.
"With him, it's always 'How do we get better? How do we move up?' " Hartmann said. "It's a real devotion, dedication and passion."
Over the weekend, Zakariya played in his first Tucson Association of Realtors Shootout. The Torpedos went 2-1 in the U11 Copper flight.
Proceeds generated from the annual tournament allow youths like him to receive scholarships and play for free.
Without the scholarship, Zakariya says he would be practicing soccer in front of his house instead of among hundreds of children at Townsend Middle School.
"This is better because you get to be with all these people," Zakariya said. "When you're not in the club you don't get to be with anybody."
Plus, he can hone his skills through real coaching, which is important since he hopes to play professionally one day.
"Soccer is pretty much his life," Hartmann said. "He even comes on Monday and tells me all the international scores from the weekend.
"He's loves the sport."
Perhaps more importantly, Zakariya is aware and appreciative of those helping him along the way.
"The first time I met him in person, he came right up to me and shook my hand," Majeski said. "He told me he was really happy. Then as I was leaving, he came up and gave me a hug again.
"It's been a heartwarming experience."
