Faces Of Nantucket: Roberto "Berto" Rivera-Lemus

Faces Of Nantucket: Roberto Rivera-Lemus

Years on the island: 17 years, born and raised

Favorite things about Nantucket: The diversity. I like the safety and the community.

Roberto Rivera-Lemus - known to everyone simply as “Berto” - is making a name for himself around the island. But the Nantucket High School senior is not doing it on the court or the field or in the classroom. Berto prefers to stay behind the scenes, connecting and organizing his peers for a series of athletic events that have become known as “Berto’s Tourney.”

What began in 2023 as something to cure the wintertime boredom on Nantucket has evolved into highly anticipated soccer and basketball tournaments that typically draw more than 100 island teens as participants and spectators. Berto’s Tourney has grown to include trophies, medals, custom jerseys with sponsors, social media accounts, merchandise, and even its own logo.

“Everything comes together,” said Berto, who now partners with the Boys & Girls Club and the Harvey Foundation to host his tournaments.

It began two years ago when Berto and his friends “were talking about how boring the island gets in the winter, and I said, ‘Why don't we put together a soccer tournament?’ At first, it was just an idea thrown out there. No one said anything else after that. And then Christmas break came, and I thought, ‘Why don't I actually try to make a tournament and get people involved. So we made that happen.”

The 17-year-old, who is the youngest son of Salvadoran immigrants, gets satisfaction not from playing in the tournaments he organizes, but facilitating and creating memorable competition and camaraderie. And Berto’s Tourney is preparing to expand beyond just soccer and basketball with the addition of a flag football tournament as well.

What’s the biggest lesson he’s learned so far?

“Patience,” Berto said with a laugh. “There’s some of them that will find anything to complain about. You've got to deal with them. But then there's also those that are like, ‘you're doing an amazing job. Look at the community you're forming.’ During the finals, there was one kid who never watches his language, yeah, but he pulled me to the side and he, like, puts his arm around me, and he said, ‘Look at this. All these people are here because of you. You formed this little community.’ And so I guess that's kind of the reason I'm doing it, to motivate everyone to come together. I'd rather them be doing that than going out and getting in trouble, doing stuff they shouldn't be doing.”

Berto, who grew up attending the Boys & Girls Club after school, now works there as a youth development professional, helping some of the youngest members integrate into the club.

“Some of them call me ‘Mr. Berto’ like I’m their teacher,” he said with a laugh.

After graduation in the spring and a summer job at the club, Berto plans to attend Bunker Hill Community College in Boston where he’ll major in - what else? - sports management.