Jose Pablo Villalobos ‘26 is an exchange student from Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica participating in FSS Soccer for the fall season.
Through a new exchange program with Monteverde Friends, Jose Pablo Villalobos is now a starter and core player on FSS Varsity Boys Soccer. He will be at FSS for the entirety of the soccer season and more, until his departure in December. Jose is an experienced player who joined the team as soon as he had the opportunity to, starting from the first day of preseason. “I like the soccer team here. I have played soccer all my life, so I love soccer,” Jose said. Soccer has been such a big part of his life in Costa Rica, and now he’s able to bring his skills to the FSS community.
Jose is the first exchange student at Friends Select to join a sports team. Not only is Jose on the team; he’s a starting midfielder, and according to his teammates, he brings new energy and strength to the field. Gavin Ewing ‘25, the captain of the Varsity Soccer team, expresses how amazing it has been to have Jose on FSS Soccer and how he’s helped lead the team to victory. “He’s a good midfielder, has good IQ, and amazing ball movement,” Gavin said.
During Jose’s time in Philadelphia, he’s been staying with an FSS family, attending classes, getting to see the city, and, of course, playing soccer. Jose is staying with fellow teammate Charles Planet ‘27. “Jose and I both love soccer, so it’s great for the team that we have such a passionate player in addition to our great team,” said Charles. “Sometimes we talk about school; sometimes soccer; sometimes food, it really doesn’t matter.”
Jose notes that soccer in Costa Rica is more demanding than FSS, and talks about what the transition into the FSS community has been like. “In Costa Rica, I played for a professional soccer team, so it was practice and games every day,” Jose says. “It was really serious… Here, it’s serious too, but it’s more about playing other schools.”
According to Gavin and Jose, Friends Select Varsity Soccer is off to a good start this season. They’ve won all of their preseason games and are on track to be one of the best teams for FSS soccer. “We already played one game for the league and two friendly matches, and we’ve won all of the 3,” Jose says.
