“Nuestra meta con Huella Deportiva es dejar huella en el deporte colegial.”
There is a catchy line in one of Rubén Blades’s most famous song that says “La vida te da sorpresas, sorpresas te da la vida.” Indeed, this might be the perfect phrase to describe the trajectory of Edgar Xavier Vargas, whose success as a sport journalist has transcended beyond expectations. This twenty year old has always been passionate about basketball; actually, it was his lifelong dream to join UPRM’s basketball team. Despite his talent and efforts, he didn’t make the cut, yet he chose not to give up on his goal, but rather to pursue it from a different angle. This was the beginning of an incredible journey that eventually led to the founding of UPRM’s authority in sport journalism, Huella Deportiva.
As a freshman he worked for Radio Colegial, which leveled the ground for gaining experience at the media. By his second year, he was already broadcasting live as an independent commentator for the games. Stunned by his initiative, people began to approach him with curiosity, and long story short, Huella Deportiva was born.
Huella is a group of twelve students, professors and alumni that work along the UPRM’s Athletic Department to inform the community about events regarding every Colegio team on every sport discipline. Yes, it is a handful, he assures. Yet, judging by their immense success and popularity among Colegiales, it is totally worth it. He has nothing but words of praise for each and every member of his team, all of whom I got to know through his fond references. At this point, I realized that despite his huge success, he couldn’t be more grounded.
Edgar has a special quality that makes him an extraordinary human being: gratitude. That I could tell since the very beginning of our hour-long conversation. Throughout it, more than a dozen names popped up – people he feels thankful for, their role, big or small, in the creation of Huella Deportiva. The first name that came up was his brother, to whom he refers to as “the smartest person I know.”
He is a visionary, and dares to see opportunities where others might find obstacles. “¡Soy el mayor hoseador de la historia!” he appoints, as he accounts how his persistence has opened valuable doors for him. Last summer he landed the first journalism internship position ever at Los Indios de Mayagüez. Also, last November he traveled with UPRM’s male basketball team to cover their EE.UU tour with the NCAA D2. Once he graduates from his bachelors degree in marketing, he aims to pursue graduate studies in sport marketing, where he wishes to continue developing his career around passion for sports in the broadest way possible.
P.S. Edgar made a special request, that each of the members of his team, along with those who by any means are part of this project, were acknowledged in this article. These people are: Departamento Atlético UPRM, Ray Quiñones, Marilyn García, Francisco ‘Kiko’ Cintrón, Héctor J. Vargas, Gabriel A. Torres, Gabriel González, Kevin Toro, Kevin González, Amanda P. Morales, Bryan Muñoz, Jeffrey Hernández, William Rodríguez, Daniel Desa & Carlos M. Rodríguez.