Loving the adrenaline of his position as a goalkeeper, junior Michael Linan is hoping to make it to the “ring” this soccer season.

“I’ve been on the Birmingham Community Charter High School (BCCHS) team since I was a freshman, but I’ve been playing soccer since I was about six years old,” Linan said.

Besides Linan is center mid Alfonso Serrano  and offensive-mid Jonathan Hinojosa, all three boys have been on the BCCHS team since their freshman year. So far this season their team has been undefeated for five games, even against their rival El Camino Real Charter High School.

“We were excited that we beat them, we’ve been training hard and we just have to work on keeping composure so that we can continue this winning streak,” Serrano said.

All three boys have been working with their team, through team conflicts and teammate injuries, hoping to make it past the play offs, which start on Feb. 19.  Then  into the championship match or the “ring” as others call it, where they may or may not play against El Camino once again for the title.

“I’ve been preparing mentally and physically on being consistent with my level of play, making sure that I play by best even during practice,” Linan said. “But since I have school work on top of practice I don’t always make the practices.”

Being on a team always starts with inspiration. Serrano grew up with soccer in his life thanks to his dad. For Linan, it’s his culture and watching soccer games with his family. Hinojosa, similar to Serrano, grew up with soccer because of his older sister and at the age of seven was put onto a team.

“I’ve loved soccer all my life, and playing on a team makes me excited, even if it can be challenging at times. I think it’s worth it,” Serrano said.