Gatherings of the city behind the Thai coach who took the boys into the cave

He was probably the first to enter the cave and last Tuesday he was removed.

Ekkapol Ake Chantawong, coach of the 25-year-old Wild Boars football team, has been criticized by some for what is perceived as a supreme act of recklessness.

Why did the adult take care of 12 young children, do you decide to lead the group into a dangerous and forbidden network of underground tunnels, known to be flooded at this time of year? ;year?

For those who know the former monk and community worker, the willingness of others to judge far and away has led to a characterization that they say is unfair and inaccurate.

Thamma Kantawong is one of only two living parents of Coach Ake, as he is popularly known around the city. The other is his elderly grandmother.

Although Kantawong is Ake's cousin, she says she considers him more like a young nephew, due to the age gap between the two family members. . She describes herself as her aunt.

From his modest home in Mae Sai, Kantawong recounts Ake's traumatic childhood and the death of his parents

"His mother died while he was still very, very young and his father died when he was only 10 years old, "she said.His brother, his only brother, also died very young, says Kantawong, showing us an old family photo of 39, Ake with his parents and his brother.

As a result, Ake, like many orphaned children in Thailand, moves away from his childhood Mae Sai became a Buddhist monk in a monastery in the neighboring province of Lum Phun

He remained in the care of the monastery for most of the next decade, returning only to his hometown to see his grandmother … Kantawong, who did not see him very often during this period, said that it was a very difficult time for such a young boy.

Ake would return to his Mae S have in the age of 20, seeking to rebuild his life. Although he is no longer a monk, he has close ties to the many temples in the city, where friends say that he regularly spends his time praying and helping with the renovation.

Kantawong attributes the devout faith of his nephew to his willingness to help others. He did not eat during the first days in the cave and instead shared his food among the children.

This altruism, says Kantawong, helped keep the children alive for the first nine days before the divers discovered the missing. The group is nestled on a ledge, surrounded by flood waters, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the network of caves.

"He loves the football team.Where he goes, he always has kids with him," she said. "Their parents trust him that he can take them from their sons. "

Kantawong says that although Ake organizes and trains several weekly training sessions for the Wild Boars junior team, he only receives a small stipend." "It's not motivated by money," she said. "He does it because he loves football and working with children."

Kantawong rejects idea that he would knowingly do something that could harm children. "He is a very good person, loves children, cares for children, he is very diligent and always volunteers to help others." She said, "The language that he speaks is very polite. "

This is a shared point of view at the Wild Boars club, where Ake is the junior team coach.

Monday night, the senior team of the club resumed training for the first time since the disappearance of the junior training 18 days ago.

The club had already suspended all matches and practice sessions, deciding that it would be inappropriate to play football while his junior teammates were trapped in the cave. Now that the first stages of the rescue operation have been successful, the club's head coach, Nopparat Kanthawong, has suggested that the team comes together to show its unity to the rescuers [19659022]. spoke of their affection and respect for the junior coach, recalling memories of how he would give up his personal time to help organize activities for the kids. "19659004" Coach Ake is a type of guy who loves all kids "17 Kae-hae Lahuna." After we all have finished training, he always takes the youngest to their home to make sure that They are all safe, they take good care of the children and love to spoil them, "he adds

The training center of the team is in the shadow of mountains where the caves are located Usually the junior team will finish the practice before the senior team takes the field.Lahuna was among the players who were still training on Saturday, June 23, while the worried parents were starting to call the head coach to ask him if he knew where their children were.

"When we heard them for the first time and about 10 other senior members of the school. team rushed to the mountains to look for them. "We waited at the entrance of the cave for them until 4 am the next day."

Pannawit Jongkham, the senior team coach, who joined the research later that same night, says everyone badociated with the Wild Boars is behind the coach Ake, as they have been since the first day of the rescue.

"When he came out, everything will be the same, we will support him, nothing will change" In a Buddhist temple behind Ake's aunt's house, on the borders of the northern border of Thailand with Myanmar , members of the community hope he will come back to cycle through the city and take the kids to the countryside

A former monk, who gave his name to Jay, described Ake as an active part of life in Mae Sai.

"He's always out with the kids on a bike in the hills," said Jay, who is now an artist and helps paint the decorative inner columns of the temple. [19659004] Like Jay, Ake is also a volunteer, who helps in the maintenance of various temples in the city. "He's a well-known guy, a good guy," says Jay, "He helps us a lot."

"I often see him at Wat Pha That Doi Wao temple, on the hill, where he comes pray, "he said." We are often catching up and talking together. "

Kantawong says she's been in touch with the authorities and that she hopes to see Ake again in the coming days.

She strives to thank the rescuers for their efforts. And the endless debt of gratitude that she owes to the Thai Navy SEALs, one of whom is dead Last Friday during the pre-rescue operation.

Kantawong says that she does not know why her nephew has entered the cave, but suggests that the boys might have been looking for the first time. after a long bike ride in the heat of summer. "Maybe he just wanted to rest, maybe it was hot," she says.

She's cons that some people still hold him responsible for the group's situation, even though she hopes people will forgive. think foreigners and Thais are kind enough to welcome her again, "she said." He's a very good man. "