Valarie Sukovaty

Sockers midfielder Chad Hagerty made his career choice at the young age of 8-years old: professional soccer player. He even wrote it down in his 3rd-grade journal. Fast-forward a few years later to the age of 14, and that dream starts coming into focus as a strong possibility. “I guess the moment that I really...

“The sport of soccer is a teacher of life." It was always more than a game for retired San Diego Socker Frank Vizcarra. He could see the life lessons in the sport he loved and knew one day he would use them as tools to succeed off the field. “You learn about the value of teamwork,...

When he was a child, Travis Pittman played in the World Cup. It's true. His front yard was the arena and the teams were made up of his brothers and the neighborhood kids. It didn't matter that he was pretending, because it was real enough to inspire him to dream big. It's been an...

Sockers defender Felipe Gonzalez has some solid advice for young soccer players who dream of being a professional like him: be fully committed. “There will be times where you might want to go out with friends, but you will have to put it aside to get what you want." He says there will also be times...

Born in Queens, New York and raised in Hillside, New Jersey, Sockers goalkeeper Boris Pardo played street soccer with other kids in the neighborhood. They used rocks and trash cans as goal posts. It was nothing serious, just something to pass the time. That all changed when he began spending summers with his father's...