East County Athlete of the Week: Broden Beorlegui

Broden Beorlegui is one of the top athletes in East County. The 16-year-old stars on the Lakewood Ranch boys varsity soccer team despite attending the Florida Virtual School — a decision necessitated by Beorlegui's time spent training in Germany earlier this fall with two teams from the Bundesliga, the country's top soccer league. Through six games with Lakewood Ranch (6-1), Beorlegui leads the team in goals with 13.

When did you start playing soccer and why?

From the moment I started running, I was playing soccer. If I had to guess, I would say around 3-4 years old. What’s kept me playing soccer is just how fun the game is to me. I’ve played multiple sports, but none of them have stood out to me like soccer. 

What’s the appeal?

The team aspect of it. I just love hanging out with my teammates on my high school team here at Lakewood Ranch.

What's your best skill on the field?

My ability to score. I’m a striker and I’ve always just had a knack for scoring — even if I’ve had a bad game, I can still put away a goal or two. Because of my size, I’ve been used as a defender from time to time, but I was way too physical and kept getting yellow cards. 

What have you been working on to improve?

On the days that I don't have a high school game or club practice in the afternoon, I go out to the field here at Lakewood Ranch and work on my technique, handling and shooting the ball. I’ve also found that I have to be a bit more disciplined with my diet than some of my teammates. Eating junk food really does affect me negatively. Most of my meals have to be homemade. 

What’s your favorite soccer memory?

Last year with Lakewood Ranch, we lost to Riverview High 3-1 at the beginning of the season. We shouldn’t have lost, it just wasn’t our game that day. Later on in the district playoffs, however, we faced Riverview again and beat them 5-0. We went into the game with so much passion and energy, we were determined not to let them beat us again. 

What’s going right for Lakewood Ranch this season?

We’re more of a team this year and less individualistic. We might not be as talented individually as we were last year, but we’re much more connected and we’re better for it. In my freshman and sophomore seasons, all I cared about was scoring goals. This year, I haven’t paid nearly as much attention to my personal stats as I have toward working with my teammates. I’ve still been able to score, but this year I’ve logged so many more assists and the team has performed better working as a unit. 

What’s your favorite food?

It has to be my Nana’s meatballs. I was able to have some at Thanksgiving dinner, which was great. 

What’s your favorite movie or television show?

My favorite movie is "Interstellar". My all-time favorite show is "Game of Thrones." I’m currently watching "Prison Break," though. 

What are your hobbies?

I’ve gotten into carpentry and building things. Over Thanksgiving break, a buddy of mine and I started building a Tiki hut in his back yard. We put a bunch of four by fours together, screwed them in with L-brackets and just put together this structure. We’re currently working on the palm frond roof. I’m probably going to build a fire pit soon. There’s a sense of accomplishment after building something that you know you’re going to use that I just love. 

What's the best advice that you've received?

My dad told me that no matter what, even if you’re playing a terrible game, all anybody ever cares about is how much effort you put into it. If you don’t put in the effort and you have a bad game, that’s the worst thing that you could ever do as an athlete. If you’re giving your absolute maximum effort and you don’t have your best game, at least you can hang your hat on the fact that you tried.

Finish this sentence. Broden Beorlegui is…

Going to be a professional footballer.