Since they obtained underway in summer time of 2025, MAN v FAT’s leagues in New York have been vastly profitable, setting its members on the trail to a more healthy life-style.
Our group in Lengthy Island Metropolis have loved exceptional weight reduction numbers, having achieved almost 800lbs weight reduction because the yr’s classes come to an in depth.
They’ve achieved that success beneath the tutelage of Karl Cereno, who has been in command of the league because it first obtained began.
We spoke to Karl when he first joined MAN v FAT and it’s been a interval of private achievements for him too, having additionally not too long ago taken on a job throughout the MAN v FAT Soccer HQ crew. We caught up with him to get the lowdown on why his MAN v FAT expertise has been such a constructive one to this point.
Having been teaching MAN v FAT for a number of months now, what has stood out probably the most to you and what have been your highlights?
What has stood out probably the most is how rapidly the fellows purchased into MAN v FAT’s mission of reducing weight and residing more healthy lives. As a coach, I truthfully didn’t need to do a lot motivating—they got here in prepared. All I needed to do was give them a roadmap and a few construction.
A serious spotlight for me was the early success we noticed in Season 1. I’m undecided how different golf equipment stack up, however so a lot of my gamers have been reducing weight each week, with a big quantity hitting their 5% and 10% milestones, some even surpassing that.
How proud are you of the neighborhood that’s been constructed and what has been the key to the success of LIC?
Proud is an understatement. I genuinely love what we’ve constructed right here in LIC. We’re greater than a soccer membership – we’re a household. Actual connections have shaped. We go to MLS matches collectively, host BBQs, and even present up to one another’s household occasions.
I don’t assume there’s a single “secret” to our success, as a result of that will take away from everybody’s contribution. What I attempted to do from the beginning was create an area for guys to be guys in wholesome methods – discuss sports activities, bust one another’s chops, joke round, be foolish. Our group chat displays that tradition. It’s nothing however jokes, memes, and constructive vitality that retains everybody engaged.
The burden loss from the fellows exhibits no indicators of slowing down, how have you ever stored them focussed on that a part of their membership?
A few key video games this season have been selected the scales. One crew received on the pitch however misplaced general as a result of the opposite crew hit their weight-loss targets. That was an actual turning level and confirmed everybody how vital the load part actually is.
To maintain the fellows centered, I continuously remind them of the implications of letting that half slip and the way it can actually change the end result of a match. I additionally empower the captains to carry their groups accountable all through the week. That mixture of consciousness and peer accountability retains weight reduction entrance and heart for everybody.
You’ve now stepped into the MAN v FAT crew in your further position – how have you ever discovered that to this point and the way do you hope to assist coaches and gamers on this capability?
Getting into my further position has been nice as a result of it’s allowed me to see the group by means of a unique lens. I now have a a lot clearer sense of the place golf equipment are thriving and the place they want assist.
On this position, I hope to assist coaches and gamers by sharing what has labored for us in LIC—retaining gamers, constructing robust neighborhood tradition, and sustaining security requirements. I additionally need to be a useful resource for newer coaches who should still be discovering their footing, whether or not that’s serving to them have interaction their groups, navigate tough conditions, or arrange easy programs that maintain their membership operating easily.
