On a windy fall afternoon on the Penn High School soccer fields, David Ramirez moves across the field with a joy that he has not always felt when playing soccer.
Ramirez’s life began far from the Midwest. He was born in Costa Rica and move to New York shen he was two years old. At age five, he was in New Jersey, where he first started playing soccer, and at six, he moved to Granger, a place that would one day plant the seeds for his
love for soccer.
“I actually hated playing at first,” Ramirez said about soccer. “All the teams I was on were so bad, and I just never really got into it.”
Ramirez quit soccer quickly, but he started again in fourth and fifth grade, but he quit again because his teams were so bad and no one really took it seriously.
But in seventh grade, he tried one last time, and this decision is what kick-started his love for the game.
From then on, he loved playing soccer and has been grinding ever since.
Now, a sophomore in high school, Ramirez is a steady player on the Penn JV team.
Ramirez is, and has been, working hard year-round, whether it be in the weight room, futsal, or just normal soccer, with hopes of a prized spot on varsity. Whether it be his junior or senior year, he will keep working until he gets that spot.
“I hope before my time at Penn ends, I’ll be able to get a spot on varsity,” Ramirez said.
