Varsity goalkeeper Anthony Martinez sits tall on the blue bench, wearing a grey jacket as he gets ready to begin another day of playing his favorite sport.

“I started playing soccer because I really liked the sport,” the 16-year-old junior said. 

He has been playing soccer since he was six years old. Since then, his skills have improved and his love for the sport has grown.  Martinez plays and practices around 15 hours per week, so it is important for him to balance schoolwork and soccer.

“I mostly stay up an extra two hours just to catch up on schoolwork,” Martinez said. “What’s really useful for me is the weekends. I have an AP fifth period, and most of the time that’s when I have to leave if I have a game.”

Martinez also has the additional challenge of managing his relationship with his varsity teammates. While there usually aren’t any problems, he explained that sometimes there can be minor issues. 

“We always have had a good relationship,” Martinez said on the subject of his teammates. “There’s always going to be hiccups on the road but to be honest we have good relationships.”

Martinez has big plans for the future. He wants to continue playing soccer and advance to play on a division 1 college team. This requires a lot of perseverance.

“Some challenges are having to work the hardest on and off the field,” Martinez said. “It’s not as hard though, because I fell in love with hard work.”