His family had just bought him goalie gloves for the season ahead. Now they sit untouched, a reminder of the boy they lost.
ENNIS, Texas — The soccer fields in Ennis are nearly ready for a new season — grass cut low, dirt pressed flat, goals waiting. But the cleats of 6-year-old Raul Chavez will never touch the turf again.
“He just enjoyed being here,” said his mother, Ana Juarez, standing near the fields where her son once ran. “He enjoyed every second of it.”
Raul, described by his coach as “a joy, always a smile on his face,” died last Sunday after a UTV crash on his family’s land near the Oklahoma border in Gainesville.
That evening, Raul and three other boys — including his 9- and 13-year-old brothers — climbed aboard the vehicle for what should have been an innocent summer ride, but the UTV rolled, pinning Raul underneath.
“It turned on one side, and my baby fell to the side,” Juarez said. “It fell on him.”
Raul had no heartbeat by the time they reached the hospital, she said.
His 9-year-old brother was flown to a Fort Worth hospital with pelvic fractures and bruises to his lungs and liver. He was released Wednesday, but faces a long road to recovery.
“We’re taking it one day at a time,” his mother said.
The family has since launched a fundraiser to pay for Raul’s funeral and his brother’s medical journey.
On Monday night, the Ennis Soccer Association and the boy’s family will hold a vigil at the fields Raul loved so much — the same fields his teammates will take without him when the new season begins.
“It’s going to be very, very emotional,” said his coach, Leo Olmos. “I truly am going to miss him.”
Raul also planned to start playing football soon and was an avid baseball player. His mother now emphasizes safety to any parent allowing their child to ride along in an all-terrain vehicle.
One memory weighs especially heavy: the goalie gloves his parents bought Raul just days before the crash.
“We bought him goalie gloves a couple of days before,” Juarez said softly. Raul wanted to play goalie for the upcoming season.
Those gloves still waiting at home are a painful reminder of the boy who dreamed of wearing them this season and the games he won’t get to play.
“I want them to see that when they turn on that light for the fields,” his mother said. “That’s part of him. Part of him is there.”
The Ennis Soccer Association is also raising money for Raul’s family. You can find more information about that here.
Paige’s Pancakes in Ennis will be selling pancakes on Friday night to raise money for Raul’s family, located near 1700 Blue Jay Dr. in Ennis.