{"id":47030,"date":"2023-12-14T14:11:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=47030"},"modified":"2023-12-14T14:11:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:11:19","slug":"captaincy-as-a-junior-a-perfect-match-for-paredes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/12\/14\/captaincy-as-a-junior-a-perfect-match-for-paredes\/","title":{"rendered":"Captaincy as a junior a perfect match for Paredes"},"content":{"rendered":"
By John Orrell<\/em>
\nLandmark Correspondent<\/em><\/div>\n

HOLDEN \u2014 When first-year Wachusett Regional High boys\u2019 varsity soccer head coach Rick Porter took the job guiding the green and white this fall, one of this initial responsibilities was choosing captains for the upcoming 2023 campaign. All four players chosen were head and shoulders qualified for the job, perhaps especially junior Miles Paredes, who embraced the captaincy role with vigor and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiles is an exceptional player,\u201d said Porter. \u201cHe showcased his quality on the field with 12 goals and 5 assists this year, winning him a position on the league (Mid-Wach A) all-star team. What is most impressive about him, though, are his qualities off the field. He was named captain as a junior and earned the respect of his teammates through his courageous leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was captained with three of my teammates who are seniors,\u201d Paredes said. \u201cIt was a really easy year in terms of communication and being on board with my other captains. I felt like I was respected by all my other teammates, so it was easy to earn their trust. In terms of captaincy, it was a lot of work. As long as you\u2019re being the best person you can be, it\u2019s no problem, and I thought this year went well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was little, my dad was into soccer, so he introduced me to the game at a very early age. I eventually started playing club soccer with him as my coach. I always participated in town clinics with other coaches that I knew. I also played year-round, whether it was club, school or town soccer. I just kept myself involved, taking time to work on my skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up playing midfield, and I loved having an eye on everything around me. I feel like I\u2019m a very observant person, and I know where all my teammates are. When I came to high school I tried out as a midfielder, and I think that suits me very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

As calm and soothing as he is off the field, he amps up his intensity when he sets foot on the pitch. He knows that anything less than 100% effort is clearly not acceptable. Much of that drive also comes from his competitive nature with his siblings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the youngest sibling in my family,\u201d Paredes said. \u201cMy two older siblings always led by example, and my mom taught me that, too. So, in terms of captains, you learn to have your players on your back knowing what they need and what the team needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a competitive person, and playing in these games makes me want to win. But at the same time I like to have fun, and these sports I play help me have fun. I enjoy every second of the games when I\u2019m out in the field. It makes me feel like I\u2019m at home, and that\u2019s how I really want to play it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNerves are part of the game, and it\u2019s hard not to be nervous. Once the ball gets into play, most of the time those nerves go away and you settle into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was a transitional year of sorts for the likeable Paredes. In his undergrad play, he was a stalwart defender for the Mountaineers, but this season, he made the conversion from defender to goal scorer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy freshman and sophomore season, I didn\u2019t score many goals at all because I was playing more of a defensive role. This year I wanted to show my attacking abilities. I was pretty pleased that change in my position to an attacking role showcased my skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paredes, a National Honor Society member and youth soccer coach, is hopeful of being selected to the Wachusett varsity basketball team this year. In the meantime, he explains just what Mountaineer prides is all about from his point of view.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pride knowing that you\u2019re representing your school and the town you live in,\u201d he said, adding his view of the future. \u201cFor me, I know that anything I do on that field represents my school, my teammates, my friends and my teachers. I just want to represent my school well because it is a great school and carrying that (Mountaineer) logo on my shirt is really nice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year should be good. We have a lot of returning players and have some great players who will fill in spots. With an offseason of full training, it should be a very bright season.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Orrell Landmark Correspondent HOLDEN \u2014 When first-year Wachusett Regional High boys\u2019 varsity soccer head coach Rick Porter took the job guiding the green and white this fall, one of this initial responsibilities was choosing captains for the upcoming 2023 campaign. All four players chosen were head and shoulders qualified for the job, perhaps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}