Israel Leguizamo isn’t scoring goals for Woodrow Wilson soccer team this season because coach Damon Miller moved him from the glamorous forward spot to a defensive midfield role.
Leguizamo’s reaction to being taken out of the limelight is typical of the attitude that made him team captain this season as a junior.
“I like it because it helps the team,” says Leguizamo, who scored five goals last season as the Wildcats won the district championship.
“As long as we play as a team, I’m happy.”
The 5-foot, 5-inch Leguizamo – also known as E.Z. – was an easy choice for team captain, Miller says.
“The captain really picks himself by taking charge,” Miller says. “Whoever is leading the stretching after eight weeks, that’s the captain. I just make it official.”
Leguizamo is an honors student with a passion for soccer. He plays whenever possible: for Woodrow’s team, for a Plano Classic League Division II team called Santos (which won an under-17 league championship), for an adult indoor team named La Raza, or just wherever there’s a ball and a field.
“When it snowed, we played in the snow at St. Thomas (Aquinas School),” Leguizamo says.
The position doesn’t matter; Leguizamo, who was born in Mexico City, has played them all since he started kicking a ball at age 6.
“My dad was a pro player in Mexico,” he says. “He played for the Seleccion de Toluca. He was the second goalkeeper for them. They called him Yasin (after a legendary goalie from Russia).
“So I played goalkeeper for a while, but he was hitting hard shots at me. I decided to hit hard shots at him instead.”
Miller says he moved Leguizamo to defensive midfield for the good of the team.
“We have three defensive players out for awhile because of grades,” Miller says. “E.Z. is my best hustler, so I put him in the middle and let him run sideline to sideline and win the ball. He can wreak some havoc in an offense. He’s not afraid to stick his head or his foot in.”
“Being captain means a lot,” Leguizamo says. “It means the coach knows I can take care of it on the field, keep my teammates quiet. I don’t get mad. I just tell them they did wrong. If they make the second mistake, then I get mad.”
Though Woodrow doesn’t rate with Plano or Duncanville as a soccer powerhouse, Leguizamo sets his sights high.
“I want to play in college, at Virginia,” he says, naming the NCAA Division I national champions.
“I want to major in (pre) dentistry. Then I want to play professionally. I hope I can play in a (pro) league here. If I have to go to Mexico to play, I will.”
Prospects on the Diamond
Woodrow baseball has been steadily improving in recent years, and coach Mike Wallace says: “This might be the year we get to be pretty good.”
Going into the first of five scrimmages, Wallace expected outstanding play from six returning starters: senior right-handed pitcher Jose Perez; junior left-handed Robert Padilla; second baseman Duke Barnes; senior and three-letterman infielder Mac Hill; junior center fielder Frank Zapien; and junior catcher Joe Theriot.
The Wildcats opened their season last month against Mesquite Poteet.
Going Out in Style
The Woodrow boys basketball team had a rough season but ended it on a happy note. The Wildcats beat playoff-bound Hillcrest Feb. 15 in the season finale, 85-81, as Godfrey Bollin scored 22 points and point guard Tyrone Williamson 18. It was only the third district loss for Hillcrest.
With the victory, coach Mike Kirby’s boys finished with a 6-16 season record. They tied with Roosevelt for third place in District 12-4A with a 5-5 record.
“Beating Hillcrest was a bright way to end the season,” Kirby says. “That’s probably our biggest win all year, and I think we finished a little higher in district than people predicted.”
Golfer Makes One-in-a-Million Shot
Tenison Park Golf Course was buzzing over a double eagle recorded on hole No. 2 on the West course neighborhood resident Milt Erickson, 69, scored the deuce on the 520-yard, par-5 hole with a driver and a 4-iron.
“I had to do it this way, because I can’t putt worth a hoot,” Erickson says. “Actually, I hit a fantastic drive, for me, and an outstanding 4-iron, and I saw it go up on the green, but we couldn’t see the hole. I went and looked behind the green, in the mud, and couldn’t find the ball. Finally, somebody looked in the cup, and there it was. I had no idea I’d even get close.”
“That’s a real rare feat,” says assistant pro Mike Roberts. “It’s the first one I can remember here in at least two years. They say it’s rarer than a hole-in-one. And that’s not a dogleg. It’s pretty much a straight-ahead hole.”
The feat was witnessed by Erickson’s usual twice-a-week playing partners. They are neighborhood residents John Meyer, Ed Neikirk, Ed Winborn and Winborn’s daughter, Susan Fullerton.
