AOTM: Guy Horcasitas
February 26, 2015
Many high school soccer players dream of playing internationally. However, for senior Guy Horcasitas, he has already dribbled past opponents in Europe and looks to finish his senior year with finesse.
Horcasita’s parents initially put him into three sports as a young child—wrestling, baseball, and soccer. Coming from a very athletic background, with a cheerleading captain mother and a football captain father, Horcasitas was bound to fall into the sports spectrum. However at the age of nine, at his father’s request, he had to make the choice of devoting himself to only one sport. Horcasitas chose soccer.
“My love for the game inspired me to keep playing and choose this sport,” Horcasitas said.
Horcasitas was the only ninth grader to make the varsity soccer team at Diamond Bar High School, which consisted of no sophomores, ten juniors, and 11 seniors. Currently, Horcasitas switches off between the forward and center-mid fielder position but occasionally plays defender.
“It was the best experience of my life. They would pick me up, we would go eat places after practice, and have team parties with story time so I got to be really close to everyone,” Horcasitas said.
Over the course of his high school career, Horcasitas made it into Olimpica United FC, a soccer team that allows participants to compete in Europe.
“My friends from soccer told me about the team and their big plans, so I went to try out for the team and I made it. [I] worked hard and made the team to go to Spain and Russia,” Horcasitas said.
Through Olimpica United FC, Horcasitas was able to travel to Europe and play in an international tournament called the Mediterranean International Cup, only losing once throughout the entire tournament.
“We lost in the group stages. In order to move on, we had to win and we were winning 1-0 [but] then they scored with[in] 2 minutes left in the game and went on to the next stages. Then they just beat everyone and won the tournament in Spain,” Horcasitas explained via Facebook.
However, Horcasitas does not play on Olimpica anymore due to financial issues regarding the owner, which ultimately caused the team to disband.
He has been rewarded first Team All-League twice and All-Valley Team All-League once. Due to Horcasitas’ innate soccer skills as well, DBHS’s varsity soccer team has won three league titles in a row, and placed second place in the Palomares League.
Playing soccer for 14 years and counting, Horcasitas has devoted himself to the sport making soccer a “year-round thing” for him. Once high school season ends, he goes straight to club season. However, although Horcasitas considers soccer as his passion and love, he is not sure he wants to pursue it as a career just yet. Next fall, Horcasitas will be attending the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York.
“I have still not decided what I want to be when I grow up but I’m leaving to New York for college and majoring in business so I think it’ll be somewhere along those lines,” Horcasitas said.
Although Horcasitas is majoring in business, he plans on playing soccer in college due to financial priorities.
“[Soccer is] helping the financial part of [college] a little better because the school I’m committed to is giving me a little bit of a scholarship. I just made my down payment for my room for next year for college and now the next step is to sign with them,” Guy said.
