Diamond Bar High School seniors Thomas Gomez and David Vasquez’s commitment to their performance on the field has proved enough to score a goal into the Fullerton College soccer men’s team.

Having felt a strong connection the moment he started the sport, Gomez was first encouraged by his mother at the age of five to play soccer. Throughout his soccer career as the striker on the DBHS team, the support of his parents and teammates were the driving force that inspired him to work towards improvement.

“I think my success stems from seeing my teammates succeed and strive to be better players,” Gomez said. “That really motivates me to work hard and put in the work necessary to play at a high level with them.”

For Gomez, the high of winning League and making CIF in his junior year was the most memorable moment of his soccer career. Although his senior season didn’t go as well as the previous year, Gomez expressed gratitude toward the bonds that he made with his teammates in all four years of playing soccer. 

“My coach’s belief in me and trust in me definitely helped me achieve the skill to play at the college level,” Gomez said. “It really helped me and made me confident in myself [to] play at a high level.”

At Fullerton College, Gomez is planning on prioritizing gaining as much experience as he can get on the field to develop his game.

Similarly, Vasquez was first introduced to playing soccer at around six years old. Following his brother’s footsteps, Vasquez started to play on the school soccer team in his freshman year as the right midfielder, and enjoyed learning from seeing others play. After the pandemic, Vasquez realized that he wanted to play soccer at a higher level and has been working towards that ever since. 

“I would say that my brother was pushing me because he wanted me to take it more seriously,” Vasquez said. “He didn’t take it seriously in high school and regretted it, so he wanted me to take it seriously.”

Despite committing to Fullerton College early, Vasquez has a better perspective in his plans for a future beyond Fullerton College.

“I would like to move to Spain and play for a lower team and work my way in,” Vasquez said.