BOYLE HEIGHTS, Calif. — Luisa Hilario’s ponytail swings from side to side. She's racing to make a train.

“Hurry!” yells her mother. “We’re going to be late.”

Luisa carries her soccer ball and cleats. Her little brother and her mother, Erika, are with her.

Most weekdays, they travel five hours round-trip from Boyle Heights to Pasadena, California, so Luisa can play. They go by train, bus and on foot. The 11-year-old plays for one of California’s top soccer clubs. Someday, she hopes to play professionally.

 

Cheers From The Sidelines

But the family doesn’t hustle just for soccer. They hustle for a chance at a better life.

In Pasadena, Luisa plays alongside the children of doctors, lawyers and professors. Her teammates talk about dream colleges and vacations to other countries and pretty houses with big backyards.

Erika cheers on her daughter, in Spanish, from the sidelines: “You can do it, Luisa!”

Luisa’s father is a truck driver. Finding work has been hard lately and he bounces from job to job. He comes home only four nights a month.

At home, Erika’s puts all her energy into Luisa and her 8-year-old brother, Erick. They live in an apartment in a dark, run-down building.

But Erika, age 34, fixed it up. She painted the walls blue, yellow and green, and placed her two parakeets in a cage out back. She put in ceiling fans for when it’s hot.

 

Trophies And Schedules

Luisa’s soccer trophies are on the TV stand. School and library schedules hang from a bulletin board and multiplication tables are taped to a wall.

On Friday nights, Erika turns the living room into a classroom for Spanish lessons. She wants her kids to speak English and Spanish perfectly.

Any time there’s extra money, it's for the kids: Jujitsu practice. English tutoring. Swimming lessons. She hopes one day to squeeze in art and music.

Every day, Erika preaches one lesson: Don’t take no for an answer.

Years ago, Luisa was in kindergarten and bullied to tears every day because of her crooked teeth. Erika complained to the principal. When nothing changed, she pulled Luisa from the public school and sent her to a private one nearby.

The private school cost money and she couldn't afford it. Instead of giving up, she worked out a cheaper cost with the school. For months she bought only what they needed to get by.

“Sometimes I think I’m crazy,” Erika says. “But when it comes to the kids, there are no excuses.”

 

Homework On The Train

She hustles to get by; they all do.

Erick collects bottles and cans during soccer practices and games to sell for recycling. Luisa makes fake colorful flowers to sell at school for $1. Erika sells bracelets, purses and hair bows.

Sometimes, Erika works at a tortilla factory.

Luisa’s days stretch from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. She eats dinner, does homework, tries to nap, all on the train.

She gets all A's in her classes and is shooting to go to a top private high school.

Luisa hopes soccer will get her a scholarship to pay for it.

 

"Out On The Field"

“I just have to push myself,” Luisa said. “A lot of kids in Boyle Heights never have a chance to leave the area at all. I have, so I have to set an example.”

When she plays, her worries seem to fade away.

“Everything I’m feeling,” she said, “I leave it out on the field.”

Her coach, Cherif Zein, said it’s up to Luisa to determine how far she will go.

“On the field, they’re all the same,” Zein said. “It doesn’t matter how much you make or where you live or who you are. It’s them and the ball and nothing else.”

Perhaps that’s why Luisa loves the game so much.