Senior Analily Organes’ heart pounded walking down the athletics hallway. She’d spent all day rehearsing the speech in her head. But before she walked in the locker room, the poster across from the door stopped her.

It was her older brother, Feliciano Organes.

Analily was always Feliciano’s runner-up as a kid – the shy little girl watching his games from the sidelines. She cheered for him, but deep down, she wanted to be the one behind the display glass, the one her parents could cheer for.

So, Analily refused to be that shy little girl anymore. She exhaled, walked into the locker room and emerged as a soccer team captain.

“Younger me wouldn’t believe it, I wouldn’t see myself as captain,” Analily said. “I would be like ‘I barely talk now, what would make me think I’d grow so much like that or be on top.’ But honestly, we knew we could get there some day, we wanted to be there.”

Desired Recognition

Analily’s parents moved to the U.S. in 2001. Feliciano enrolled at Caney Creek High School in 2008, won the football MVP title junior year and set the school record for most extra points scored. 

Analily – born that year – said Feliciano’s success instilled expectations on her since birth.

“I feel like I have to make my parents proud for being the reason why they came down here,” Analily said. “I definitely think (Feliciano) made them proud.”

Analily felt indebted to her family growing up, being first-generation Americans. That pressure made her shy, but Feliciano was the opposite.

“It was practice every day kicking hundreds of kicks over and over no matter how hot or cold it was,” Feliciano said. “I don’t know why I stayed so dedicated to sports. Maybe because it’s all I knew and was good at.”

Their parents blanketed their home in Feliciano’s sports photos, which Analily now admits made her jealous. Analily wanted to be like Feliciano, but felt she lacked the social skills.

“They would always bring (Feliciano) up,” Analily said.  “Like, ‘Dang, like he was really good at what he did, he could have gone to college for it.’ And to me it was like a, ‘Oh, like my parents still carry that on (18 years later.)’”

Hungry to prove herself, Analily immersed herself into her academics – garnering her first earned taste of family recognition. But those achievements slowed as she got older.

“You have to earn all these honor rolls, these trophies, these awards, everything,” Analily said. “That’s what made me try other things that could get me more attention by my parents. I wanted to make them proud. I wanted to be like my brother.”

A New Taste of Success

Following in Feliciano’s footsteps and her desire for success, Analily joined Moorhead Junior High’s track and soccer team. To her and the coaches surprise, Analily’s athleticism stood out.

“I realized there that I was good at what I did,” Analily said. “I was good at running. I was I’ve always been a pretty quick person for my for my age group.  It just came to me, and once I realized I had potential to be fast, I wanted to see where I could reach my limits.”

Analily absorbed sports with her parent’s support, and consequently, their attention. Athletics replaced academics and became bonding between her and her family.

“Dad would want to go outside to at least pass the ball around,” Analily said. “I never had the opportunity to go into like a club team outside of school like that. And so my parents always knew that I was really wanting to get better at what I was doing.”

First and second place ribbons piled every track meet, stats racked up in soccer. Then, freshman year humbled her.

“(It hit that) I’m not that fastest girl anymore,” Analily said. “I have to keep trying and get where I want to be with pushing my body more with those after school, before school practices, weekend practices that I have to put in to be as good as everybody else.”

Running through trial

But even more than her peers, Analily wanted to be as good as Feliciano. Inspiration replaced her jealousy the first time she saw Feliciano’s soccer poster hung in the school.

“He came down to the U.S. with my parents when he was young,” Analily said. “So him being able to be such a successful person without anything being given to him, he had to earn everything, helped me be like, ‘I’m able to do anything if I just put my mind to it.’” 

Analily snagged a varsity track spot that year, varsity soccer the next, and as her season went on, that shy little girl faded. Analily said her turning point came at the 2023 Texas Relays track meet, the last competition of freshman year.

“It’s like ‘We all have the same the same goal we’re all aiming for,’” Analily said. “I got used to being able to now be opened with everybody else. Sports was definitely the main thing that helped me get out my comfort zone.”

Acting out of character according to her, Analily applied for the team soccer captain position this year. The team elected her later that day, and in that moment, Analily’s chase for recognition became arbitrary.