Since Miguel Zamora was a boy, he wanted his own player in a FIFA video game.
Not one he created, but one that came with every copy of the game that included soccer’s biggest stars.
As of July, though, it appeared Zamora’s soccer playing dreams would end after high school. That’s where Victor Gomez stepped in — again.
Zamora didn’t seriously consider college soccer an option until his senior year at New Hope High School, Gomez said. That put the promising player behind the eight-ball compiling videos of his match highlights for recruiters and contacting programs.
“Most coaches get their players by August or September,” Gomez said. “He waited until December (to reach out to coaches).”
Still, Gomez, an assistant coach with New Hope’s soccer program, contacted a few friends in the college coaching ranks, and before long Zamora had two colleges interested in his services — one in Arkansas and one in Georgia.
That was that, or so Gomez thought. Then about a week before most colleges began classes, an out-of-shape Zamora contacted him.
“He said, ‘Coach, I appreciate all you’ve done for me,’ but he didn’t want to go that far away from home,” Gomez recalled.
But Gomez had just gotten an additional gig as an assistant coach with the men’s soccer team at Mississippi University for Women. He convinced Zamora to join the roster.
“I told him, ‘We need players like you,’” Gomez said.
Now a freshman kinesiology major at The W, Zamora is picking up minutes as a defender for his hometown college soccer team, and he’s worked hard to close the conditioning gap with his teammates. Plus, Gomez said, he just brings “positive vibes” to the squad.
“He is one of the only kids that when he messes up, he will apologize for it,” Gomez said. “He will never put the blame on anyone else but himself. … He always brings out the best in his teammates. … He’s always trying to do something to improve himself.”
The development is the latest in a soccer-lover’s continued dream of making it big, despite several junctures where that dream nearly stalled.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Zamora was born in Columbus and started playing soccer young.
“I saw my older cousins play, and they kind of gave me hope to give it a try,” Zamora said.
He played recreational league soccer before joining the New Hope Middle School team as an eighth-grader. By his sophomore year, he was toiling away on New Hope High’s junior varsity squad.
An avid professional soccer fan, he took cues from what he saw from the best players in the world to improve himself.
“The main thing I did to catch up was watch more professional players and integrate more of how they played,” he said. “I would practice on my own or sometimes play in pickup soccer games.”
His coaches and teammates started to notice he was becoming a better player.
He earned a chance to travel to a road game with the varsity team, and though Zamora didn’t get any minutes, the players realized they wanted him as a teammate.
“(Before the next game) everybody started asking, ‘Where’s Miguel? Why isn’t he on the bus?’ That’s when I realized maybe I did have varsity potential.”
He played varsity half of his junior and his entire senior year, both of which Gomez was helping with the program. Along the way, he encountered calls to quit soccer, even from his family — his mother didn’t like seeing him get hurt or injured, and other relatives encouraged him to find a more practical path, Zamora said.
“That didn’t really bother me because I have a real love for the sport and I knew I needed to continue,” he said. “I just ignored it.”
Zamora wants to use college as a springboard into semi-professional leagues. Once he develops, he hopes to get a shot at Major League Soccer — and from there, the coveted likeness on a FIFA video game.
He knows it will be hard. Even unlikely. Gomez doesn’t believe it’s that far-fetched.
“He’s smart on the ball, a good dribbler,” Gomez said. “The only thing he’s lacking is experience.”
Say what you will of Zamora’s soccer dreams, in the “survive and advance” world of sports, he’s still playing.
“The main thing is to enjoy it and go as far as you can,” Zamora said.
And, if it doesn’t work out, a kinesiology degree should still keep him close to the pitch.
“I can become an athletic trainer for soccer or other sports,” he said. “That way, I still have the feel of sports and can help out other players.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
