Sophomore soccer player suffers collarbone injury before district season begins
At school, Adrian Martinez is like any normal kid, but on the soccer pitch he is a highly competitive athlete. His love of soccer started from a young age, in part because soccer is a passion for his entire family.
“I started playing soccer in the second grade.” Martinez said. “I was interested in playing because my brother played, and I really looked up to him.”
Martinez started playing soccer for a YMCA team when he was 8 years old. He continued to get better until he joined Lonestar Soccer Club at age 13. Lonestar is a select soccer team out of Austin that bases its roster off of tryouts. There are cuts, and it is a very selective program. Martinez started playing McCallum soccer last year as a freshman.
Not only is he a great soccer player, Martinez is also a great teammate, Coach Nicholas Martin said.
“Adrian is a source of energy for the team, because he never gives up and is always positive,” Martin said. “If I had one word to describe him, I would say that he is fun.”
Unfortunately Martinez suffered a fracture to his collarbone in McCallum’s game against Akins in the Akins Tournament on Jan. 14. The injury will have him out for most of the season. Martinez was not the only Knight to suffer an injury so far in the young season. Senior Jose Lopez-Turro tore his ACL, senior Kirby Steckel strained his quad muscles, junior Edgar Zatarain suffered from a concussion, senior Nikhil Joyce severely sprained his ankle, and junior Eric LaWare suffered from calcium deposits in his ankle joints.
Despite the injuries to Martinez and several other players, McCallum has been having a really strong season so far, Coach Martin said, “We are doing our best, and I believe everybody is doing what I put into practice.”
Martinez enjoyed a lot of good moments prior to his injury, but his favorite he says is when he scored a goal in the first five minutes of McCallum’s game against Leander.
He said that he looks up to a lot of the professional soccer players, particularly Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. He respects Messi not just for his supreme skill but also for his character.
“He is so humble and plays the game so well,” he said.
Martinez plays right midfielder, also known as the striker position. While the team has enjoyed success, his teammates say they will definitely miss Martinez on the pitch.
“I really like how the whole team works together, and Adrian really helps with that teamwork,” team captain Sacco Fernandez (‘17) said. “ I believe he is one of the best players at McCallum. He and I have a lot of chemistry. Between the two of us we have seven goals where we assisted each other. The great thing about Adrian is he not only scores, but also sets up others to score. He leads by example and that is great, especially since he’s a sophomore.”
The rapport between the two players may come because they have similar soccer beginnings. Like Martinez, soccer is a family affair for Fernandez. His uncle played for a Mexican Soccer Club called Atlante FC in Ascenso, Mexico. He also played for the Mexican National Soccer team. Fernandez says he wears the No. 12 because his uncle wore that number.
Martinez and Fernandez demonstrated their chemistry in the first goal of the season, a second-half Fernandez goal that broke a scoreless tie in their season-opening scrimmage versus Anderson.
“The most iconic moment of the season had to be when we beat Anderson for the first time since my freshman year,” Fernandez said. “Even better was that I scored off an assist by Adrian.”
Martinez’ value to the team became clear immediately after the injury. Fernandez said that the team tried to honor their fallen teammate through inspired play on the field.
“We all rallied around that and tried to win the game for Adrian,” Fernandez said. “The team scored one goal after Adrian went to the hospital, but could not pull out a win.”
When asked to define Martinez in word, Fernandez said, “I would say he is amazing. I know he is going to be a great player in the future for McCallum.”
