Colo Colo Soccer Academy USA - Lighthouse Point, Florida

Sacha Ramon

What a season it has been! We finished as champions for the 2024 season today! Our son has excelled this season under Coach Benjamin Munoz like never before. He is patient, caring and always open to speak of all things. We have faced challenges as all sports do especially at the competitive level. We are parents that travel, plan, pack and cheer on the sidelines no matter what. Coach Ben supports us as parents but remains professional and with a winning mentality. We stay and support this academy because of him.

George Navarro

I typically don’t write reviews, but I fell compelled to blow the whistle and to share my experience as well as my son's experience with this program.

This review concerns the Colo Colo 2014 U11 "Elite" program for which my 10 year old son played for and I sponsored up until November 3, 2024 when his coach recommended that I should remove my son.

Before I get into the specific events I want to share that my son is a really good natured kid, he's respectful, trains his little heart out, and never complains. Even after all the outside training and positive reinforcement, we've watched my son's confidence and self image slowly decline while being with this program. For the past few months I noticed that the coaches appeared to work in concert to stifle my sons and his teammates progress and the events that took place on November 3rd enforced the belief that my son was being targeted.

The last straw came on November 3, 2024 when the head of the program, Lolo, made what appears a shocking and unprofessional move by singling out and threatening my 10-year-old son during the middle of a game. During the half, the coach, Benji, waved to my son to go talk to Lolo and an unknown coach away from the team. My son appeared to be nervous while talking to them. My son relayed to me that Lolo scolded him and told him that he better start passing the ball or he would take away his playing time or bench him. The above was noticed by all on the sidelines and stirred a concern not only with my wife and I, but also with some of the parents that were watching. This is not the first time my son gets singled out and I believe they were intentionally targeting my son in order to get him dismissed or to get us as parents to act in order to secure a dismissal because there is no reason to go after a solid 10 year old kid the ENTIRE game when his teammates are more guilty of the offenses being thrown on my son.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, my son was immediately removed from the game by the team’s coach, Benji, after scoring and celebrating a goal, you can see in the video attached that immediately after my son's goal the coach signals to the referee to change a player; which was my son . Benji later claimed that my son’s celebration was "disrespectful" to him and that he was offended. Let’s stop and think about that—an adult, a 40-year-old man, feeling personally offended by a 10-year-old’s excitement after scoring. For the remainder of the game my son was sitting on the bench with a rejected look on his face. It's absurd, and it’s clear that the coaching here appears to be more about ego than fostering a positive environment for kids.

The events above were also witnessed by my son's private coach, and he advised that he was going to write a complaint to the FYSA and that we should do the same. The private coach is aware of the majority of incidents that my son has experienced and therefore was extremely upset at what he witnessed during that game.

Outside of the events of November 3, the coach for this team, Benji, routinely engages in calling the kids names during practice and engaging in conduct not conducive to fostering a positive experience for the kids. The coach seems easily triggered which sets a bad example for the young athletes. The training regimen also appears to be elementary and the kids lack the skills of other "elite" teams which in turn hurts the confidence of the kids and parents because they're left wondering why other programs are developing faster than them.

Overall, this program has completely drained my son’s confidence and has left me and his mom emotionally drained and hurt.

If you want your child to grow as a player, to develop their decision-making skills, and to enjoy the game, I believe that you should not send them to Colo Colo. This program appears to do the exact opposite—suppressing creativity, stifling self-expression, and punishing kids for showing potential. I believe that this program is not designed to nurture talent, but to make coaches feel powerful at the expense of young players.

Thank you

Daniel Zanonato

I am very impressed with my son's soccer coach. He is incredibly dedicated, knowledgeable, and has made a noticeable impact on my son's performance. Since working with the coach Benjamin , I've seen significant improvement in his skills, confidence, and overall understanding of the game. The coach provides excellent guidance, fosters a positive environment, and truly cares about the development of each player. Highly recommend!

Ruth Gomez

I am extremely disappointed and disgusted with my experience at Colo Colo Academy. The organization appears to lack basic administration, coordination, and effective leadership. Practices appear to be chaotic, with some players showing up late yet still being rewarded with game starts. It’s demoralizing for players like my son and others who show dedication, and show up early every practice and game, only to see others skip practice and still play without consequence. Additionally, the way the children are treated is unacceptable. Coaches call kids names “Burro” in Spanish - meaning “Donkey” Cabeza de Piña in Spanish - “Pineapple head”, Coach Benjamin lacks communications skills and has an obvious English language barrier, cannot communicate effectively with the kids, and the training sessions, they use punitive threats, such as reduced playing time or benching them if players don’t comply with their style of uninspired play. This approach shows a lack of emotional intelligence, especially when working with young kids who may not yet have the confidence to speak up for themselves. Coaches frequently act on impulse and appear easily triggered; for instance, one game was canceled due to the coach’s inappropriate interactions with the referee. Witnessed by every parent. And the last straw with this program was yesterday November 3,2024! My son was pulled aside in the middle of a water break, singled out and lectured that If he doesn’t pass his playing will be cut. My son was standing there visibly effected by the exchange. The two telling him this weren’t even his coach. Let me say that these kids are 10 years old, learning how to play and being creative, all the kids in this league have the same issue passing the ball and leaving their position etc. And you have grown men berating these kids and threatening their playing time.So, after they singled out my son and berated him, my son scored a goal and as any kid would celebrated his goal; his coach, Benjamin Muñoz, somehow took that my son’s celebration was directed at him and that this celebration was “disrespectful” to him and immediately removed my son from the game. Imagine—a coach in his 40s feeling offended by a young player expressing joy after a goal. Rather than fostering a positive environment, there’s a lack of encouragement when kids lose a game. Instead, they’re left feeling discouraged as the coaches walk away in anger after every lost game. Coach Benjamin stays seated the whole entire time of the game, yelling at the kids and swinging his arms in disappointment. We notice he never stands up on the side lines to actually coach the kids! Imagine these kids looking for guidance and all they hear is their parents and the opposite coach and nothing from their own coach! My husband had to approach the coach after the game to let them know his disgust as every parent was talking about it on the sidelines. The scout that trains my son was there as well and was flabbergasted and added that he is going to file a complaint with the FYSA. We had to watch our son come to the sidelines defeated and wondering what he did wrong. No 10 year old child should be put in such situations especially when their only goal is to play the game they love. We feel that my son was targeted and made an example of because of his growth as a player and because his parents demand the best from these “coaches”.
What’s worse, if they don’t like you or if you challenge any of their practices or decisions, they make sure your child will suffer for it. It’s clear they don’t actually want your child to succeed but instead try to limit each player, holding them back. Multiple families have already left this program over the same issues. These coaches seem to think they can treat both parents and kids however they please, without any accountability. I would stay far away from this "academy," and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for a bright future for their child. This place needs serious improvements to provide young athletes with a constructive, respectful, and encouraging environment.

Kala Sloan

Coach Kevin to me is the epitome of what a coach should be to kids my son’s age. He is thoughtful, kind, and he cares not just about their growth as soccer players, but about their growth as young boys. Our experience with Coach Kevin has transformed our child in the very best way. He has built confidence in our child and as a result, he has grown to finally trust a coach. In addition, he has grown as a player. For us, this program was about finding someone that would care for our child and that someone our son would trust. He is an anxious kid and as a result, careless coaches and programs that show little investment typically don’t go over well. With Coach Kevin, we saw the opposite and are just so thankful for all he has done for our son. Absolutely amazing. Thank you!

Aloysio Neto

Coaches are fantastic and really concerned about the kids development not only from a soccer perspective but also as team members and sportsmanship. Shout out for coaches Benjamin, Luiz, Santi, Lolo and Armando - your support was/is key for my children and our teams.

Glenda Hernandez

Es una academia increíble. Los profesores entrenan con mucha dedicación. Los niños se sienten más que un equipo como familia y los padres igual. Muy recomendada para el crecimiento futbolístico de los jugadores dentro y fuera del campo, porque siempre les enseñan deportividad ante todo y eso hoy día es un valor que a mi consideración es valioso que lo inculquen.

Daniel Palmero

Great academy overall, I have seen tremendous growth for both my sons.