By JOSH HAVARD/The Lufkin Daily News
In his time at Lufkin, Alex Rodriguez racked up a collection of honors that included a district MVP, a school record for goals in a season and four all-district selections.
When he continued his playing career at Tyler Junior College, he knew it wouldn't be easy to top those accomplishments. But at the conclusion of his sophomore year, Rodriguez accomplished his biggest soccer achievement yet - a national title.
Rodriguez played a key role on an Apache team that went 21-0 and defeated Georgia Perimiter 5-3 in a shootout for the national title.
For the former Panther, who scored 39 goals as a high school senior, it was the culmination of a junior college career at one of the top junior collegiate soccer programs in the nation.
"It's indescribable how happy of a feeling that is," Rodriguez said. "To be able to play for and win a national championship is a goal we had coming in. But to be able to actually accomplish that without losing or tying a game is really special."
The title was just another step for Rodriguez, who played many different roles for the Apaches. He played various positions both in the midfield and on the defense.
They were roles that Rodriguez wasn't completely unaccustomed to.
Although Rodriguez set several records for his goal-scoring abilities at Lufkin, he played every position other than goalkeeper during his four seasons on the varsity.
And while he wasn't the primary scoring option that he was with the Panthers, he still managed to make an impact in a variety of ways.
"I always want to score goals just because I've always had that mindset," Rodriguez said. "But at TJC, we had players from Brazil, France, the Caribbean and places throughout Central America.
"When you've got players like that and a team that's as good as we were, you just try to find a way to contribute. The whole experience of playing there was great. And in 10 years from now, we'll all be able to come back and remember our championship."
While he has fond memories of his time with the Apaches, his college playing career isn't close to being over. In June, Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to play soccer for the Belhaven Blazers, an NAIA school located in Jackson, Miss.
Last season, the Blazers were ranked as high as 15th nationally before ending the season at No. 23 in the NAIA Top 25 rankings.
"I probably got this chance because there were so many scouts at the national tournament," Rodriguez said. "They saw me play at the pre-national tournament and followed me through the national tournament.
"After that, I went up there for a few days and worked with the team but didn't sign because my mom had told me not to sign when I was there. But they called right as I was pulling into the driveway and said they wanted me. So I went ahead and officially signed with the team. I'm excited about getting this opportunity."
Rodriguez said he would be going into a similar environment that he saw at TJC. Belhaven has a roster that consists of players from all over the world, although Rodriguez said the team has much more of a European influence than TJC had.
"They had a good team last year and depending on the new players that are coming in, I think we'll have a shot to compete for a national title," Rodriguez said. "They lost to the national champions, 1-0, so I don't think they're too far off."
Rodriguez will report to Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 6, which is just four days before the team's first scrimmage against Brilla. The season opener will be on Aug. 27 against University of Texas at Brownsville.
For now, Rodriguez is enjoying his summer in Lufkin, while also staying in shape for what he knows will be some tough workouts in the August heat.
He stays in shape for soccer by playing on several teams in the local Hispanic leagues. He said that on a normal weekend, he'll play four games.
Rodriguez also spends time during the week running and lifting weights.
"I know some of the players aren't in the same category as what I'll see at Belhaven," Rodriguez said. "But it's still good practice and it's a good way to stay in soccer shape, because just running doesn't really cover everything."
While Rodriguez will have to wait another month for his meaningful games to start again, for now he has at least one good reminder of what he accomplished with TJC that he said rarely is out of sight.
"I take this with me everywhere I go," Rodriguez said, referring to this national title ring. "I thought it would be nice, but I wasn't expecting anything like this. Maybe I can get another one of these in the next two years."
Josh Havard's e-mail address is jhavard@lufkindailynews.com.
