Go Vertical! An Interview with Dalia “La Pantera” Gomez

Hi Dalia! How did you get into doing international youth exchange?

In my last year of college at Evergreen State, I received the Gilman Scholarship, because I wrote an essay about why I wanted to study abroad, and I won! The scholarship allowed me to pick any country in the world to study in. I chose Mexico, since I wanted to relearn the language and get to know my family better—I had only been there when I was five to spend the summer with my grandma, and then once at 17 for a week just for fun.

Basketball, and sports in general have given me the opportunity to see different places. Even just within California, as a member of an all-star softball team and as an amateur boxer, I was able to see small towns all over the state, and I thought it was really cool to meet people from different communities and connect through sports.

In 2016, the idea kept constantly coming up that what I wanted to do was take kids all over the world; that sports would be an awesome way to connect international communities. Life works in crazy ways sometimes—one night I was talking about my dream with some of my former basketball teammates from college, and the very next day I received an email from an NGO in Nicaragua that was looking for donations of boxing supplies! The director of my gym passed on it, but I decided to just take it on myself and go on my own! I bought my own ticket. Even though we were one of the poorest gyms in Oakland, I was able to gather used boxing and basketball supplies, gear, and clothes the for kids in Masaya, Nicaragua.

During that trip I realized that I wanted to come back to Nicaragua, but the next time, I would bring youth with me. If I could bring kids from the ’hood to countries where people have even less, then the US kids would come back home with the ability to bring love to their own communities even more.

So the next year I went to Nicaragua with two kids. I fundraised, and used some of my own money, and a few friends helped us out. We brought more supplies and fixed a basketball court! It was the absolute highlight of the trip—not only to see the looks on the faces of the Nicaraguan kids that were receiving this gift, but to see the eyes of the Oakland students who worked hard with me to make it happen. It started to rain as we put up the last net, but we still played ball!

I planned to go a third time to Nicaragua, this time taking ten kids—but the riots started, so we cancelled it. I decided I would just go to Belize on my own for a vacation, since it had been years since I had taken one. But something compelled me to contact a high school in Belize beforehand, and I also connected with a Belizean boxer on Instagram who showed me pictures of their humble gym. So I brought supplies. On the mainland, I ended up doing a camp with the athletes from Belize, and on San Pedro Island, I collaborated with a yoga instructor to offer a Zen Champ class, which combines boxing, yoga and tai chi. I also ended up giving a speech in a high school and playing a basketball game with the students!

I’m just happier that way. It doesn’t matter where you go—you should always give back to that space; to the locals; to the kids.

What’s happening on the July Cuba trip?

Five of the US youth who are going are kids I know from the boxing world, because I’m a USA boxing coach. We’re creating an “All Star team” that gets to go spar with kids in Cuba. There are also other kids I haven’t worked with before who’ve applied, from football and basketball backgrounds. They’re all Bay Area kids, a mix of high schoolers and middle schoolers.

The Cuban kids we’re meeting are all working out at the oldest gym in Havana. They’re all trying to make it as boxers. Local amateur boxers will be sparring with us as well. Malía (AltruVistas CEO) also set up a baseball game for us. In addition to working out and playing every day, we’ll also be learning about Cuban history, culture, and agriculture, and even meeting up with a hip hop group! This is an educational trip.

I love traveling with middle and high school kids. They’re at an age where it’s so possible to touch their hearts and spark something in their minds: “Whoa, there’s more out there.”

Where are you at in your fundraising, and how can folks help?

The per-kid cost for the Cuba journey is $2500, and the goal is to bring ten kids, which would be a total of $25,000. Right now we’ve raised $6000, some of which came through our Cinco de Mayo fundraiser party in Oakland. So we have $19,000 more to go by June 25^th.

Any amount we raise over the goal will go to my “Pantera Camp,” which is a mixed-gender school supply giveaway for Bay Area kids who need it, combined with a sparring contest and a celebration.

Can you talk about your educational philosophy and about the power of sports in international exchange?

I’ve taught middle school and have taught and coached in youth programs for all ages: Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, camps, and at a rehabilitation center for teenagers struggling with drug addiction. I started coaching at 17 for an elementary school basketball team. Coaches and teachers—including after-school and youth program teachers—are the angels of the community. Taking care of kids outside of school and being there for them is so important. Many kids don’t have fathers present, or any parent truly emotionally present. In my nonprofit I focus on POC kids who don’t have resources and opportunities to get out and travel. It’s a true calling for me to be able to offer these kids experiences that will help them build trust, be ok to be vulnerable enough to build bridges and to grow.

We even had a couple of kids who wanted to go on the Cuba trip but they’re DACA so they don’t have the papers to go. I’ve taken kids all around the Bay, Sacramento, Stockton, Salinas; to Tahoe where we trained in a cabin; to LA to meet famous coach Freddie Roach; to Oxnard to Robert Garcia’s famous La Colonia Youth Boxing Club.

Sports are a common language that can connect us all—whether we know how to communicate with the spoken language or not.

There’s a T-shirt I want to make that says, “How do you play?” Are you hanging a boxing bag on a tree? Sparring with no shoes? No matter what environment you are in you must remember to use your imagination and have fun. Whether you’re in Cuba or in the US, you’re still finding ways to play regardless of the resources you may or may not have.

I believe these bridges we build can last. I’m still in touch with the kids, coaches and teachers from my trips to Belize and Nicaragua.

I’m not teaching for the Oakland Unified School district next year because I want to teach in my own unique capacity. The Vertical Skillz program gives me that platform, as does my continued practice of personal training.

With Vertical Skillz, I’m a “Rookie ED.” I’m focusing on the nonprofit, taking a leap of faith, and I’m gonna grow. Next time you see me I’ll be a “Champ ED.”

To help Vertical Skillz send kids from the Bay Area to Cuba:

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/dk92s-youth-global-experience-cuba
PayPal: Goverticalskillz@gmail.com
Venmo: Verticalskillz
Click Here for Mailing Address: https://www.verticalskillz.org/donate

Follow their journey via
Website: https://www.verticalskillz.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verticalskillz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verticalskillz/