Heritage Academy senior Luca Hernandez is a Maricopan and a lifelong soccer fan.
He took that passion and turned it into a winning recipe. This year, Hernandez scored more goals than anyone in the state’s Canyon Athletic Association.
The 17-year-old striker has played since he was able to run. His Italian family had a big influence on his interest in the game.
“I was always watching Italian soccer with my uncle and my grandparents,” said Hernandez. “They live and breathe soccer.”
When he was old enough to run, he was playing with family members.
“[My uncle] and I were passing around in the backyard and he saw that I was using my left foot. I’m a lefty,” said Hernandez. “He said, ‘This kid has potential.’ So, I’ve started soccer there on out and I’ve loved it ever since.”
In eighth grade, Hernandez scored 29 goals over just a dozen games. By the time he was in high school, he had scored 38 goals. Last year, he scored six goals before a knee injury benched him for the rest of the season.
This year, after physical therapy, he came back and scored a whopping 49 goals. That’s a new record for the regional soccer league.
Hernandez plays a striker position and chalks his success up to practice.
“Before my senior season, I tried to focus on my weak points and try to strengthen those weak points,” he said. “I didn’t score all my goals with my left foot. I’ve always scored with my right and my left, you know. That took a lot of hard work off the field to get me to where I needed to be.”
After graduation, Hernandez is going on a two-year mission trip for Latter Day Saints. After that, he hopes to play soccer for Arizona State. His goal is to play soccer as long as he can, while he studies physical therapy.
There isn’t necessarily a trophy for scoring the most goals. Hernandez says he wants his legacy for this moment to be that perseverance pays off.
“I’ve put a lot of hard work onto the field. I feel like I was a leader and a motivator for the team. Talent without hard work is nothing.”
#Maricopa #teen #shatters #CAA #soccer #scoring #record #GOOOALS
Leave a Reply