Athlete focus

Oscar Soto Zamudio has been playing soccer since he was four years old and that sport has helped him to develop into the person he is today. “I play for a travel team outside of school: Solano United Arsenal,” he said. “I have gone to eight finals with my club and, out of those eight finals, I have only experienced being champion two times… I have broken a record with my club, being the first player ever to score a hat-trick in one of the biggest tournaments in Las Vegas, the ‘Major’s Cup.’” Soto Zamudio is the only player from the club who attended the tournament.

Besides playing for Solano United Arsenal, he also plays for the JV team at Armijo and hopes to continue playing through college and beyond. “I hope one day to play professional soccer, have a good education and play overseas,” he said. For other athletes, Soto Zamudio would encourage them to “never give up. Give everything you have in every practice and game. Don’t listen to people that say negative things about you and always do what you love doing; follow your dreams.”

“My most memorable game was in San Francisco with my club team,” he said. “We won all three of our games which led us to the final against a team that was undefeated in the tournament, Athletica Santa Rosa… before the tournament, I spent hours working out because I knew… I finally needed to win. The day of the final came, a Sunday night. Before the game started, I took 20 minutes, praying to God to help me win my first championship game. Once the game started, all my nerves went away. I was playing like it was the last game I would ever play. The game was so good that all of the parents were out of their seats. At the regular stoppage time, the score was 1-1, which led us to go to overtime, then penalty shootouts. We ended up winning the game 4-1 in penalty shootouts. I was so excited I couldn’t stop crying!”

While soccer takes up a lot of Soto Zamudio’s time, he still makes time for other things like visiting the gym and volunteering at church. While he wants to play professional soccer, he also sees himself studying Sports Medicine. His parents have encouraged him over the years and they are his role models. “They have worked 12 hours a day since I was a little kid, which I really looked up to because they worked hard their whole lives, just so my brothers and I could have a better life and never have to worry about not having food on the table,” he said. Because of them, he is able to follow his dreams.