The energy in the room is contagious.

El Paso Locomotive teammates Rubio Rubin, Kenneth Hoban, Eric Calvillo and Robert Coronado have the kind of chemistry that makes this interview feel more like hanging out with friends. There is nonstop banter and plenty of inside jokes.

“We call Kenneth ‘6,7’ since he’s the youngest,” Rubin says as the entire room laughs.

Founded in 2018, El Paso Locomotive is entering its eighth year with championship goals and the first major leadership change in club history. Mike DiGiulio joins as president and general manager after four seasons with Monterey Bay FC.

“When I found out about this opportunity, it was just too good to pass up; it’s an incredible community, a club with great ownership and great stability. Excellent fan base,” he says with a smile.

DiGiulio quickly knew El Paso was somewhere he could see himself.

“I came here for two days in November and instantly knew that this is a place I wanted to call home. I quickly saw that there was something special here that I really wanted to be a part of.”

When asked, he says he does not describe the position as pressure. Instead, he sees it as a responsibility to the city, the club’s ownership and the staff working behind the scenes. His goal is to make Locomotive feel like a bigger part of El Paso’s identity.

Soccer, or fútbol, is already everywhere here. Kids grow up playing it, families watch it together, and clubs such as Segundo Barrio FC continue building the game within their communities. El Paso is already a soccer city. Locomotive wants more of the city to know it has a professional team of its own.

The team plays downtown in the same stadium as the El Paso Chihuahuas, and sharing a baseball stadium can make it harder for the club to create an identity of its own.

“We do play in a baseball stadium, and I think that’s the most confusing part, so identity needs to be not just in the stadium, but in the community.”

For DiGiulio, the number of people who have not discovered the team yet represents room to grow.

“This is a big community, a big city, there’s a lot going on, so it’s a blessing for us that not everybody knows [about the Locomotive] because we still have a lot of room to grow.”

Under his leadership, DiGiulio wants the club to be ambitious, open-minded and unafraid to take chances.

“I hope there’s not any fear of failure, because we are going to reach so high that sometimes failure is going to be inevitable, but that’s okay.”

The biggest goal, of course, is winning.

“The El Paso locomotive is an elite fan base, an elite group of supporters for this league. They deserve the very best, they deserve a championship, and that’s what we’re all here to try to deliver, a championship, and for us all to celebrate a big win”

A championship could give the city something to rally behind, but the team cannot create that atmosphere alone. A packed stadium makes every goal feel bigger, and the players notice when the crowd is fully engaged.

“Having spectators out here and just having that excitement of whenever you score a goal, the fans go crazy. It pushes us to score more, catch dubs and catch wins,” Rubin says.

Last season, Locomotive broke the club record for goals scored in a season. This year, the players want to keep building on that momentum.

For a first-time spectator, Coronado says to expect more than just a soccer match.

“A first-time spectator should expect a lot of excitement. It gets loud here, especially when we’re scoring and winning, so just an exciting match for sure. There’s always something going on on the field, off the field, the club does a great job marketing the games, and they always have some sort of giveaways or some fireworks shows after the game.”

Before stepping onto the field, each player also has his own way of preparing. Calvillo grabs caffeine on the way to the stadium and again before warm-ups. “I’m a big energy and caffeine guy.” Rubin keeps things calmer, spending time with his son and trying not to think too much about the game.

The jokes, routines and personalities make the team feel approachable. Once the match starts, everything changes. The stadium gets loud, the crowd gets involved, and every goal feels like a celebration for the entire city. For anyone who has not attended a Locomotive match yet, the message is simple: Come be a part of this growing family.