Soccer - Nonagenarian youth coach still going strong in Peru

Some 1,000 players have run laps and completed drills under her strict eye and even though her health is failing the nonagenarian task master is still going strong. REUTERS/Janine Costa

LIMA (Reuters) - With her brusque style, salty language and emphasis on discipline, 92-year-old youth soccer coach Maria Angelica Ramos is helping to turn young children into fully fledged footballers in Peru.

Ramos, known by her players as "the Old Lady", has been a coach for almost half a century, most of them at Lima's America Mimi Sporting Club.

Some 1,000 players have run laps and completed drills under her strict eye and even though her health is failing the nonagenarian task master is still going strong.

"I'm going to keep going as long as God wants me to. I don't know, but I think I'm going to die on some (soccer) pitch, but I'm going to keep going with this." REUTERS/Janine Costa

She has earned the affection of her young charges, who see Ramos as their "second mother".

"The 'Viejita' is a really good lady," said Luis Ignacio Ore Marin, one of her players.

"She's like a second mother to us, and when she trains us, when she says things that -- I shouldn't say them -- it's for our own good. Because, we have to learn and to understand that we have to be strong."

Maria Angelica Ramos attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos. REUTERS/Janine Costa

With no family of her own, Ramos has dedicated much of her life to the children she trains and said that with her health deteriorating she values their companionship more than ever.

"I live alone, I don't have a family, I don't have children, I don't have anyone," she said. "Before, I didn't miss it, but now I've been sick, so I see the need for someone to be with me."

"I'm going to keep going as long as God wants me to. I don't know, but I think I'm going to die on some (soccer) pitch, but I'm going to keep going with this."

Maria Angelica Ramos, a 92 year-old soccer coach known as 'La Vieja' or 'the Old Lady,' attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos, Lima, Peru March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Janine Costa

(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Toby Davis)

Maria Angelica Ramos, a 92 year-old soccer coach known as 'La Vieja' or 'the Old Lady,' attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos, Lima, Peru March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Janine Costa

With her brusque style, salty language and emphasis on discipline, 92-year-old youth soccer coach Maria Angelica Ramos is helping to turn young children into fully fledged footballers in Lima, Peru. REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos, a 92 year-old soccer coach known as 'La Vieja' or 'the Old Lady,' attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos, Lima, Peru March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos. REUTERS/Janine Costa

"I live alone, I don't have a family, I don't have children, I don't have anyone," she said. "Before, I didn't miss it, but now I've been sick, so I see the need for someone to be with me." REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos shows trophies at her home in Los Olivos, Lima. Ramos, known by her players as "the Old Lady", has been a coach for almost half a century, most of them at Lima's America Mimi Sporting Club. REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos. REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos, a 92 year-old soccer coach known as 'La Vieja' or 'the Old Lady,' and her soccer team pose for a picture during a training session at Los Olivos, Lima, Peru March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Janine Costa

"The 'Viejita' is a really good lady," said Luis Ignacio Ore Marin, one of her players. "She's like a second mother to us, and when she trains us, when she says things that -- I shouldn't say them -- it's for our own good. Because, we have to learn and to understand that we have to be strong." REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos, a 92 year-old soccer coach known as 'La Vieja' or 'the Old Lady,' attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos, Lima, Peru March 2, 2018. Picture taken March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Janine Costa

Maria Angelica Ramos, a 92 year-old soccer coach known as 'La Vieja' or 'the Old Lady,' attends a training session with her soccer team at Los Olivos, Lima, Peru March 2, 2018. Picture taken March 2, 2018. REUTERS/Janine Costa