DRIVE is one of the best traits to have in an athlete. Pierre Espinoza (12) definitely has the drive to take him far in his soccer career. His passion for soccer started at a young age. “I have been playing soccer since I was 5 years old,” Espinoza said. Though soccer is his passion, he does find time to play other sports.

“I play other sports for fun like basketball, but not competitively,” Espinoza said.  Soccer has provided many great things for Pierre, but one thing in particular stands out. “It’s provided me with a distraction, and it is my passion, and it got me into college,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza’s hard work and dedication towards soccer has provided him an opportunity to go on to play at the next level in Colorado. “I signed my letter of intent to play soccer in college at Adams State University,” Pierre said.

This goes to show if hard work and dedication is put in day in and day out, it will eventually pay off for a tremendous opportunity. Espinoza has a very bright future ahead of him if he keeps up the work he is putting in.

As expected for a hard-working athlete like Pierre, he sets his personal goals to a high standard. “My personal goal is to be an all-state player and win region,” Espinoza said. Though he does set a high standard for himself, he does have high expectations for his team as well. “I expect us to perform at a high level and win region this season,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza’s love for the game is just one of the reasons he gets motivated to keep going during games, practice, and training. “I’ll always love playing, so I’ll just keep playing, also my family [motivates me] to go out and do better,” Espinoza said. With the passion that Pierre has, it should rub off on his teammates to help raise their level of playing.

So far, receiving a college scholarship has been one of his biggest achievements, but with his hard work he puts in and the drive he has, he will accomplish even bigger things in his lifetime. “Getting an athletic scholarship, it’s a message for others to work hard and never give up,” Espinoza said.

One of the reasons Pierre has such a love for the game of soccer is because it has been around him since he was young. “For me it’s been in my family since I was little, I couldn’t imagine being without it, it is a sport that brings people together,” Espinoza said. Soccer is the number one played sport in the world, one of the reasons why it brings people together.

Pierre’s hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed, his drive is one of the first things that was said about Espinoza. “He’s very driven, hard working, dedicated, funny, when he wants something done, he gets it done,” Valeria Rojas (12) said.

“He is a team player, shows signs of self and team development, very positive,” Coach Bewar said. His character is one of his strongest attributes as a person, and this is one of the reasons he will make it far in his soccer career.

The sky is the limit for Espinoza’s potential, and other seems to agree as well. “It’s really high, I can see him on tv, he’s going to be famous, he’s driven, he stops at nothing,” Rojas said. “I can see him playing college soccer, he has the drive and the skill,” Coach Yousef said.

For an athlete, it is very critical to be able to communicate to teammates. Communication helps cut out confusion and enhances the execution level.

“His ability to communicate, when in soccer is critical, he shows signs at being a captain at a high school and college levels, he picks up kids when they feel down, aside from communication, he can adapt to any style of play, he’s a hard worker, he is one that you never have to worry about being fit,” Coach Bewar said.  

With Espinoza’s hard work and dedication towards soccer, there is no doubt that he will have a great season this year for the Lancers and have tremendous success at the college level.