Luque turns lifelong soccer dream into reality
Article and photos courtesy of the Macon Telegraph –> Original Article Here
AUTHOR:
Soccer wasn’t supposed to be a long-term pursuit for Logan Luque.
He was 4 years old, and his mom made him go to a soccer practice he had no desire going to. After one day, he was ready to quit. But he didn’t. He kept going back. Looking back, he is thankful for his mother making him go to that soccer practice because he stuck with soccer, and now he’s moving a step closer to making it a profession.
“I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for her,” Luque said. “It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Luque’s determination to stick with the sport has put him in a position to play the sport at the professional level. He was selected to participate in Atlanta United’s youth academy.
Luque said at the academy he will travel and play other youth academies of his team’s skill level. There is a tournament it will enter to determine the best academy team in the nation, and the experience Luque is going to gain from this has him very excited for this opportunity.
“I was kinda shocked,” he said about getting the phone call. “It’s something I wanted to do my whole life.”
It was perfect timing for Luque. His dad, Shawn, said when there were talks about expanding Major League Soccer to Atlanta, the franchise decided to get involved in the youth academy.
Since he was introduced to soccer, Luque has had a goal to play professionally. He even said, ideally, he would like to play in Europe, preferably in Spain. He already has family there, and if his career reaches its potential, it could become a reality. Luque’s favorite soccer club is FC Barcelona, and his dream is to play for his favorite club, which is one of the best in the world.
But it won’t be easy, and Luque is ready to put forth the work to get the chance to play overseas. Before he books that trip, he does want to spend time in the MLS, and he said he would love to play for Atlanta United, the city in which he was born.
Luque is confident about the physical preparation, but the mental part of the move will be challenging. He has built a friend group in Warner Robins, and when me moves to the academy and Atlanta becomes his new home, he will have to start again.
Shawn said he has been helping his son think differently about life and helping him mentally. Now that he will be on his own, the conversations have been hard and he said he was happy to have a lot of time to talk to Logan and prepare him for the next step.
“I have had the chance to talk to him about how he approaches life and his value system,” Shawn said.
Things will be different for Luque, but once he overcomes the mental part and finds his niche with the youth academy, that will no longer be an obstacle in his optimistic career.
“(I) absolutely have no regrets,” Logan said. “It’s a dream come true to make (this) happen.”