Kicking off a new start: Soliz explores the world of professional soccer

Coming into high school with an extensive background in soccer, senior Kevin Soliz exited Cedar Shoals as an early graduate in December to play professional soccer, foregoing his final season on varsity.

Soliz’s skills have developed over a span of 12 years, beginning in a Sunday league team at 5 years old. He then became a member of Athens United, until finally deciding to play for Lanier Soccer Association. Soliz was also a part of MOBA, a soccer academy based in Georgia before he joined the Cedar varsity soccer team as a freshman. 

“It’s a fun game to play. You meet new people if you do get far into it, and you’ll see more of what it’s like out in the world while meeting different types of people,” Soliz said. 

By spending time warming up before practices to improve his technique, Soliz separated himself from previous players on the team. When Cedar men’s soccer co-head coach Conor Naughton came to set up the field before a practice last summer, he found Soliz warming up by himself an hour before practice started. 

“I pull up to the stadium, and Kevin’s already in there all by himself, in a full sweat doing drills. By the time the rest of the team got there, Kevin had pretty much already put in an entire practice all on his own, and that wasn’t an expectation. That was kind of the norm for Kevin. Him and a bunch of other core teammates last season did that kind of thing all the time. So he’s incredibly positive as a leader,” Naughton said. 

Though he’s still unsure of where he’ll be playing, Soliz’s main goal is to sign a contract with a team that’s interested in the way he plays. Looking to play for a team in Brazil or Spain, he plans to keep his options open and continue exploring until he finds something that feels right.

“He’s exploring his options. He’s got a few things lined up. His club coach in Gainesville is helping him with some potential leads on some semi-pro teams around the area, and he’s got a couple potential opportunities overseas. Right now, he’s just trying to figure out which route he wants to go,” Naughton said. 

Soliz plans to look into the requirements for playing professional soccer for Real Madrid, a professional soccer team based in Spain.

“The dream team is Real Madrid, but that would be super difficult. I wouldn’t mind playing Division 2 professional soccer; I just want to get that pro contract. I want to go to Mexico, and if I don’t get anything from there, I’ll go to Europe and keep looking until I hopefully find something,” Soliz said. 

Getting in touch with professional soccer teams is traditionally more challenging than signing a contract or getting a scholarship through schools. Reaching out to specific teams isn’t always easy and doesn’t guarantee you a spot the way getting scholarships and offers through schools does. 

“I’m not really in touch with colleges, that’s just not my way to go. I don’t really enjoy studying or anything, and with soccer it’s really difficult to go pro for a team. It’s different from basketball and football. You could just get drafted for those sports but it’s way harder (for soccer) and you just have to be really talented,” Soliz said. 

As he continues to practice and put in the work to become better, Soliz’s mobility allows him to play multiple positions as a left wing and left back, which adds to his usefulness. 

“My freshman year, I was a team leader with tackles. As a defender and a left back in my junior year I got like seven or eight goals and it’s not easy as a left back,” Soliz said. “At first I was scared and nervous, but once I got in, I realized I could compete with the other players so I got comfortable with it and had a pretty good season.”

Soliz’s versatility as a teammate and his ability to score while playing multiple positions on the field led to coach Naughton’s decision to choose him as one of the captains last season.

“I didn’t think I would be captain, since there were so many seniors on the team, but since my freshman year I would always act as a team leader by getting onto my teammates, so it wasn’t anything different. It was just adding captain in front of my name, and when I got chosen it felt good,” Soliz said. 

Leading the team with his consistent work ethic that he exhibited during his three years at Cedar, the Jags made it to the playoffs and won  their first-round game against number one seeded Pace Academy 2-0. However, they were knocked out in the second-round, losing 4-1 to Northwest Whitfield. 

“As a freshman and sophomore, we knew we were a young team, so we knew we didn’t have the best chances at state or playoffs so it didn’t hit as much. But my junior year we lost two or three playoff games, and they really hurt because you realize how important they are and have the feeling of not taking your team further,” Soliz said. 

As captain, Soliz became stricter with his teammates, causing him to re-evaluate his perspective. 

“At first I was being so serious, and I realized that I was being serious about it to my teammates, getting on them and humbling them. Then I realized, like, ‘You’re still a teammate; you’re still a friend. Being a captain doesn’t change anything. You just gotta do what you were doing before,’” Soliz said.

As one of his former teammates, junior Zeke Hensley-Williams interacted with Soliz on the field and learned new techniques from him while playing together. 

“Whenever we were doing bad he would tell you what you could do better and try to give you confidence,” Hensley-Williams said. “He played a similar position as I do, so he taught me how to play better which involves using a lot of what I know now.”

Despite having a wide range of experience in soccer, Soliz’s character is what sticks out most to his teammate

“He’s a great guy. He’s such a funny person and he’s also really, really good at the game and is always willing to help support you,” Hensley Williams said. “He came to our practice a couple days ago and he was like, ‘How’s it going?’ and he’s so much fun to have around.”

Having been the boys soccer coach for nine years, Naughton is sad to see Soliz leave, but remains positive.

“Kevin’s the kind of player who would instantly improve any team in the state. It will be a little bit different without him, but I think the positive side is that it offers new opportunities for other guys,” Naughton said. 

Working towards his aspirations of playing for a professional team, Soliz plans to study new techniques and tricks to set him apart from other players, while continuously improving his skills in the next five years. 

“I’ve watched videos of a couple professional legends. Obviously you’re not going to play exactly like them, so I have to be smart and play as simple as I can. I’ve always wanted to play like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, but my friends have motivated me because watching them play makes me think, ‘Dang, I also want to play like them too,’” Soliz said. 

Naughton feels that Soliz’s work ethic combined with his talent will take him far. 

“He can use both feet equally well, which is incredibly rare in young players, in terms of his right foot and his left foot being equally strong. He’s such an intelligent player in terms of the way that he reads the game, the way that he understands the game. His tactical understanding is really advanced for a player his age, so that allows him to be so effective. What really sets him apart isn’t just the talent, it’s the work ethic and the character that he possesses that go along with that talent that help push him even further,” Naughton said.

As Soliz looks to the future, one part of playing Cedar soccer that he’ll miss is his time spent with his friends on the field.

“It was fun. Most of my friends were all seniors when I was a junior, so I miss not being able to play with them again. I’ll miss it, but I’ll always cherish playing with them,” Soliz said.