Huntington Beach’s ‘Fifi’ Garcia, 11, earns Sports Illustrated SportsKid of the Year
Huntington Beach resident Fei Fabiola “Fifi” Garcia, 11, has a star that’s ascending quickly.
Almost as quickly as Fifi attacks the defense on a breakaway in soccer.
The sixth-grader at Saints Simon & Jude Catholic School was recently named the 2023 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKid of the Year.
She adorns the cover of the December issue of the Sports Illustrated Kids magazine and got a special video message from University of Colorado football coach and former NFL star Deion Sanders, who was recently named the 2023 Sportsperson of the Year.
“This is a privilege for me to announce this,” Sanders said in the video, holding the magazine cover. “Look at you, with your hands on your hips like you’re just her. You are her, that’s right.”
The “SportsKid of the Year” award honors a young athlete, ages seven to 15, for superior performance on the field, in the classroom and service in the community.
Fifi, who was featured in the Daily Pilot this summer, is a standout in soccer, softball and track and field, among other sports. She also plays volleyball and basketball for her school.
“I was very happy,” she said of her reaction when she found out about the national honor. “I was actually amazed I got picked. It took a lot of hard work for me to get it.”
Fifi attended an autograph signing at Sports Basement in Fountain Valley on Nov. 25, as part of a sports card and collectibles show there. Her father, Hodari, acted as her assistant, while her mother, Janice, took pictures.
Fountain Valley Vice Mayor Glenn Grandis and Councilman Ted Bui offered her commendation at the event. Fifi’s fans got prints of the Sports Illustrated Kids cover autographed by her, for a suggested donation of $10 to further her athletic endeavors.
Hodari Garcia said that Sports Illustrated contacted the Southern California Blues, Fifi’s club soccer team, to get the process going that ended up with her getting SportsKid of the Year.
“They did a photo shoot with her in Costa Mesa for a couple of hours, and then they said she won,” Garcia said. “They said, ‘She had the best year of any kid we’ve seen.’ I was shocked. You never know what other people are doing ... and then the Deion Sanders thing blew us away.
“We’re not expecting anything. We had no idea. We’re a regular family in Huntington Beach, and you don’t expect anything like that to happen.”
But the talent of Fifi continues to shine through.
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