For Pasadena's Champion Cleaners, World Cup provides business skills and life lessons

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- The World Cup brings people together and is at the very core of a local Pasadena business.

"I have a passion about soccer because in the past I played soccer," said Kok Kederian of Champion Cleaners. "I played in Lebanon and Cypress. From high school to the national team. It was a wonderful thing."

Kederian took what he learned from playing soccer and applied it to a business.

"For immigrant like me, from Lebanon, Armenian, soccer gave me a lot," Kederian said. "Strength, ability, passion. First you become a very strong person. Physically, mentally, spiritually. You start running your life like a soccer team and you learn business."

Kederian shared his passion for soccer with each of his children.

"When I was a child, he trained me. It's who we are," Joah Kederian's son, said. "You grow up with it. It's something that's in your blood. So yeah, soccer's our family sport. It will always be the family sport."

They weren't just taught how to play soccer, but how to apply the valuable lessons learned in the sport.

"It's hard work. It's a really difficult sport. It just teaches you to be strong and persevere and push," Joah Kederian said. "When there's hard days, it sometimes is the thing you go back to."

They cheer for the U.S., but when America isn't playing in the World Cup, who do they cheer for?

"Coming to America, I was an underdog, and I swam up, and I became something because of the country," Kederian said. "And I really cheer for underdog teams."

And the family loves to share their love of soccer with the community. Every four years they bring in a big screen TV so the employees can customers can watch the World Cup.

"I've been coming here for 20 years. As the years go by, they gave me more enlightenment on the game," said customer Jaysee Comey. "You know all of them play soccer."