Dino is only a sophomore at Independence, however, he has already made an impact as a two sport athlete in football and Soccer during this past fall season. He is also a solid student with a full academic schedule taking honors courses in Chemistry, English and Spanish.
The key for him is to manage his time effectively and efficiently during the fall. He wakes up at 5:30 am and arrives at school by 6:05 to 6:10 am daily. He completes any outstanding homework from the previous day and makes sure he studies so he is prepared for the day’s class schedule.
On the football team he is the left footed field goal kicker, kicks the PAT and is the kick-off team kicking specialist. He would like to become the punter as well and will work on improving his skills during the off season in preparation for next fall.
During this past season he converted on two 37 yard field goals in a game and his longest conversion was a 39 yarder. Dino plans on improving his leg strength and technique during the break so he can consistently convert on field goals from 45 yards in distance. He understands how he can become an offensive weapon and help the Patriots win games during his junior year.
You can find Dino down at Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park practicing his field goals and kicking skills. He is certainly focused on getting better and stronger to improve his accuracy and distance.
As a varsity soccer player he has high expectations as well to improve his skills so he can make a greater impact on the upcoming fall season. He thoroughly enjoys playing both sports and is motivated to improve substantially next season to make a major impact on both teams.
He will continue to practice and is committed to both squads and will attend all games during the season making a positive contribution.
Regarding soccer Dino does have two great mentors his grandfather who played in the World Cup for Peru, and is father who played with the University of Connecticut Huskies soccer team, and professionally in Florida. Then there is Coach Gibson at Indy who has taken his team to the state championships for the first time in decades.
Up Close and Personal with Dino:
• Mom being a single parent has a big influence on him because of how hard she works. My Dad inspires me too. He gave Dino a UCONN warm-up jacket which is really cool.
• His favorite college teams are the UCONN Huskies and UNC Chapel Hill.
• His favorite soccer teams are Club Universitario (Peru) and F.C. Barcelona
• Dino’s music of choice is Classic Rock. He also enjoys horror movies and comedy.
• He has a pregame ritual which is to always put his right sock on first. As naturally left handed this is unusual. He also likes to relax and be happy prior to any contest.
• His two favorite academic subjects are math and history.
