PETERSBURG, VA, August 28, 2014 - Pastor Dwayne Walker and members of the Petersburg First Assembly of God Church hosted the first Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) student-athlete dinner of the academic year on Thursday night. More than 50 Richard Bland student-athletes attended the event that featured an inspirational message from Richard Bland?s head soccer coach Eddie de Souza.

Coach de Souza shared his life story and the importance of dreams, work ethic, and faith in his life. De Souza grew up in the ghettos or ?favelas? of Porto Alegre, Brazil and faced seemingly insurmountable hardships before ultimately becoming a successful soccer coach in the United States.

As a child in Brazil he was attacked and robbed, suffering a severe leg injury. Even though he nearly lost his leg and potentially his ability to play soccer, de Souza looks back on that life-changing day as ?a good thing.? The event pushed him to lean heavily on his faith as he overcame the injury to become a professional soccer player in Brazil, Spain, and the United States.

Even after arriving in the United States de Souza experienced trials and tribulations that tested his faith. While attending the University of Kentucky he had little understanding of the English language, and worked hard to keep up with his studies while trying to learn the language at a local library. Though he did not end up graduating from UK, de Souza displayed incredible determination and hard work to master the English language. He would eventually become an All-American student-athlete at Mid-Continent University, while also leading the Cougars to two NAIA Final Four appearances. Coach de Souza went on to become a successful collegiate soccer coach, most recently serving as Associate Head Coach at Longwood University before arriving at Richard Bland.

Coach de Souza is certainly proof that with a little faith, perseverance, and hard work dreams can come true.