Tommy Velazquez is a senior at Turner High School and has been playing soccer for over 10 years. When Velazquez was a child his Dad showed him how to play soccer.

“For me it’s been a dream since the age of 5,” Velasquez said, “it’s all I have ever wanted.”

Over his years in high school, he has played for the Turner Bears, Soccer Nation, and for the past month, he has been playing for the All-American Indoor League as a member of the KC Lightning.

“Soccer Nation taught me a lot and shaped me into the player I am today.” Velazquez said, “Because during that time I’ve received a lot of criticism and I was unexperienced with criticism, which caused me to struggle throughout those years. It shaped me by making me mentally stronger.”

With Velazquez now having a stronger mentality towards criticism, he is even closer to reaching his dream of becoming a pro.

“Paris Saint-Germain F.C.” Velazquez said, “that’s my dream team and the players there like Mbappe and Neymar are players I look up to when it comes to playing soccer.”

He is soon on his way to making this dream a reality. Velazquez had the opportunity to go to a Texas Soccer Showcase.

“I was at my house about to go to sleep and looked at Facebook and saw post for it and signed up for it and went to it” said Velazquez.

Because of Velazquez’s performance at the Texas Showcase he now has the opportunity to play in Spain.

“I’m nervous and excited for the response I get from the coaches,” Velazquez said.

He is now in the process of fundraising money for his trip to Spain.

“It was an effort, but I didn’t really get much out of it.” Velazquez said, “I work at Sun fresh and my parents support me.”

Velazquez, as a very experienced player has some words of advice for underclassmen that are passionate about soccer.

“Just keep working hard and be yourself and enjoy the process because there are ups and downs,” Velasquez said.

He is still focusing on raising the money and training hard to prepare for Spain. Velazquez has a GoFundMe if you would like to contribute. https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gofundme.com%2Ff%2Ftommy-and-his-dream-to-play-pro-soccer%3Fqid%3D767360e37e666feadca2bd4440e44bb0&data=04%7C01%7CNicolas.Facio.2022%40turnerusd202.org%7C83d05f1715e94431261808d9e0e99c52%7C8d59bdd511454dfc98e62b4372719704%7C1%7C0%7C637788116237906738%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=VEUtXvvOJ%2F0XW4w%2BHwkkwR29tZS%2BgdAtygD5pYmewQo%3D&reserved=0