Righetti senior Servando Perez has been playing soccer for the last eight years. He’s loved every minute of it, and it shows. He was blocking goals a few feet away during practice while Coach John Pranjic related what an exceptional player and all-around good guy he is.
“He’s probably the happiest kid out there,” the coach said. “Never has a bad day, never a bad attitude at practice.”
Perez proves to be an exceptional athlete in addition to having such a great attitude—and he’s carrying a 3.8 GPA to boot. So does he have any preferences for a four-year university?
“Anywhere,” he said with a grin.
Perez made the varsity team his freshman year, and played goalie in order to get field time. By his sophomore year, he had earned his spot on the field, and made his mark in a big way, scoring 10 goals that year. His junior year he scored 24, and made it onto the First Team All-League.
Last year, Perez went out for Major League Soccer as part of the MLS Sueno tryouts in L.A. Out of 2,500 players, he placed in the top five—but decided not to play so he could finish school.
Out of such a great high school career, what would Perez say has been his best moment on the field? To answer, he had to think for a minute.
“A hat trick against Paso last year,” he decided.
The final score in that game was 3-2, and he should know. He explained with an easy grin that he made all three goals.
Coach Pranjic summed up Perez—on or off the field—nicely: “He gets his work done.”
—Nicholas Walter
This article appears in Dec 18-25, 2008.