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There’s chatter over the phone when Samuel Bienvenue picks up. Cheering. Names being shouted in the distance. A man calls that someone has five seconds.

“I’m actually at a game,” Bienvenue said. “Jones Road. I’m just here watching.”

It’s a rec game through Tillie’s Touch, a Syracuse program designed to aid area children whose families can’t afford necessary school supplies or sports equipment. It’s not lost on Bienvenue that he’s back here — on the same field, with the same program, only now in the stands. It’s where his playing career started.

Bienvenue learned to play midfield at Jones Road, or the CNY Family Sports Centre. He used to be a center back. One day, he drifted forward and stayed there, he said.

That switch carried Bienvenue to Nottingham High School, where he recently finished his senior season pulling the strings in the Bulldogs’ midfield. It ended in October with a 2-1 loss to Fayetteville-Manlius in the Section III Class AA Sectional Championships, ending the Bulldogs’ bid for consecutive titles.

Bienvenue leaves Nottingham with a decorated resume. Double-digit goals and assists in the past two seasons. Two-time All-State. Three-time All-League First Team. The first Nottingham player named East All-Region First Team. He said he’s currently contacting college coaches in hopes of playing at the next level.

It all wouldn’t have been possible without a converted Catholic school gym on Syracuse’s North Side.

Founded in 2009, Tillie’s Touch operates out of Jowonio School, its gym turned into a soccer pitch. When Bienvenue moved from his native country of Rwanda to Syracuse at 5 with his mother, the program offered him an athletic outlet and academic support, like school supplies.

“I don’t think I ever bought school supplies when I was in middle school,” said Inga Uzamukunda, Bienvenue’s older sister. “He always used to bring me all the school supplies.”

The nonprofit has academic standards for its participants and provides tutoring in several subjects. One of those subjects was English, which helped Bienvenue learn the language.

Samuel Bienvenue has been a star for Nottingham High School, being named an All-League selection three times. Bienvenue honed his skills by playing for Tillie’s Touch in Syracuse. Courtesy of Sam Bienvenue.

Bienvenue said he has a hazy recollection of his time in Rwanda.

“I remember getting in trouble a lot,” he said. “I’m pretty sure there was a war going on.”

Bienvenue, his mother, Ramu Nyirantegereza, and his six older siblings immigrated to the United States in 2013. A year later, Bienvenue’s family settled in Syracuse. His father, a soldier, stayed behind and remains in Rwanda, though the family hopes he can join them next year.

When Bienvenue arrived in the U.S., the language barrier posed a challenge. He felt he was “always behind.” At Franklin Elementary, Bienvenue met Mao Nkurunziza, whose family hailed from Burundi, an Eastern African country that borders Rwanda to the south. The two could speak Kinyarwanda, the language spoken in Rwanda and its neighboring countries, but were determined to speak to each other in English as much as possible.

On the pitch at Tillie’s, Bienvenue watched his high school coach Claude Tuyishimire compete on older teams, and played with many of his Nottingham teammates from a young age. Dale Johnson, Tillie’s Touch’s founder, recalls Bienvenue tagging along with a friend’s older cousin when he first came to the program. Playing against opponents two or three years older than Bienvenue aided his development, Johnson said.

“Ninety-eight percent of the kids that participate in Tillie’s Touch are foreign-born,” Johnson estimates. “I would say a large majority of our kids attend Nottingham.”

Syracuse has one of the highest refugee populations of any city in the U.S. Recent census data estimates that nearly 12% of the city’s population is foreign born. What’s more, Syracuse consistently records childhood poverty rates above 40% — 80% of Nottingham residents are economically disadvantaged — and the majority of its children live in single-mother households.

When Bienvenue talks about what motivates him, he talks about his mother. He’s grateful for all she did to raise him. In turn, Bienvenue uses his English skills to help his mother craft text messages and file bank statements.

“In the back of my mind I’m always like I’ve got to do this for my mom,” Bienvenue said. “I’ve got to make her proud. The day I walk the stage, I know my mom gonna be crying tears of joy.”

Ask Tuyishimire about Bienvenue on the pitch, and he doesn’t hesitate.

“He’s a boss,” he says. “You can feel his presence.” It’s a word that comes up more than once. Bienvenue stands tall. His coach guesses 6-foot-5, though Bienvenue guesses he’s closer to 6-foot-3.

Tuyishimire also lauds Bienvenue’s technical ability with the ball at his feet and leadership. Nkurunziza, now a senior captain for the Bulldogs, praised Bienvenue for pushing and inspiring him, but noted he has a “goofy” personality, too.

Nkurunziza recalls laughing with Bienvenue during Tillie’s Touch games when they were younger.

“The opponent would be like, ‘Why y’all laughing?’” Nkurunziza said. “‘Because we just enjoying the game playing what we love.’”

That love of the game is evident in Bienvenue’s hunger to improve.

Bienvenue and Nkurunziza detail grueling training sessions under Tuyishimire. Regular sprints, sprints with parachutes tethered to their backs, hill runs. He’s eager to improve, Tuyishimire said.

Despite being in his final semester of high school, Bienvenue is still involved with Tillie’s Touch. He can rattle off countless program alumni who helped him. Now, he wants to reciprocate the impact.

“I’m there every week, just building a relationship with the kids,” Bienvenue said. “Most of them look up to me, Mao, and the other coaches that are there. Just as we looked up to Claude and all of those guys that played in the past.”

Published on January 20, 2026 at 10:42 pm
Contact Gabe: gfewen@syr.edu