Feb. 5, 2008

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Tomorrow morning (Jan. 30) a dream comes true. Westmont (Calif.) senior soccer star Johnny Alcaraz will board an airplane headed to Houston to pursue a long held dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

Drafted by the Houston Dynamo in the first round of the Major League Soccer supplemental draft, Alcaraz was one of two players from the NAIA, both from Golden State Athletic Conference teams, to be taken in this year's draft. Steven Lenhart of Azusa Pacific was selected by the Columbus Crew in the final round of the super draft the previous week.

"I have always wanted to play professional soccer," said Alcaraz. "It has finally happened and it is really exciting. I'm extremely blessed and very thankful. The last three years at Westmont, I knew that this could happen but did not know how I would deal with it or what my emotions would be. Now that it has actually happened, I am very thankful, very happy and very excited."

"I hope this is the beginning of a life long dream for Johnny," said Westmont head coach Dave Wolf. "Johnny has had it in his mind from well before he came to Westmont that he would one day have a chance to play at the professional level. There are a lot of people with that aspiration, but to see the opportunity come to fruition is a dream come true for him and for his whole family.

"Johnny has some outstanding players in his own family," continued Wolf, "Armando, Richie, who played here, Luis who played at Cal Lutheran and Hugo who is playing professionally now for the Seattle Sounders. He is the last brother coming through and for this to happen for him is really meaningful for his family and for the Santa Barbara soccer community as well."

Alcaraz led the Warriors in both scoring and points in each of his three seasons at Westmont. A three-time All-Golden State Athletic Conference selection, Alcaraz tallied 27 goals and 23 assists during his collegiate career for a total of 77 points.

"This is certainly a positive moment for our program," said Wolf. "Our object and aim is not necessarily to produce professional players, but I sure like it that we have players that have that kind of ambition. For recruits to see that you can go through the small college route and have these kinds of opportunities is really special.

"We certainly try to communicate to any recruit that they can come to Westmont and participate in a high level program. `High level' can mean a lot of different things. One of the things this does is validate that it is a high level of competition in our conference. I think it says something about Westmont soccer, about the Golden State Athletic Conference and about the NAIA."

The days ahead for Alcaraz are going to be filled with both excitement and with challenge.

"I check in on Wednesday and will be in training camp for two weeks in Houston," said Alcaraz. "After the two weeks, they will tell me whether or not they are going to keep me. If they decide to keep me, I will play on the team until at least March 3 which is the signing deadline."

Asked what he will take with him from his Westmont experience, Alcaraz had a quick response.

"What I take from Westmont is my faith. Soccer means more to me than just a game now. When I came to Westmont, I thought soccer was just a profession - and a way to earn money and become famous and have everything that comes along with it. Since being here it has taken up a whole new meaning. Now I realize that soccer is what God has given me as a gift to use to spread his word. I look at this as my ministry and I take it very seriously. I understand that it is a job, but it is more than just a job."

"The advice I would give Johnny is simply to understand that he is heading into the real world," said Wolf who made a similar transition as a draft choice by the Chicago Sting in his senior year of college. "When you play for money it changes everything about the experience. He will be in a very different setting than the one he was in here. When I played at Wheaton, I was in such a positive, affirming kind of environment. Then in a snap, all those things were gone and it was completely a result-oriented life. That's certainly the case in the professional level in this country and it's even more the case when you go to the team that has won the last two championships."

"I see two things that Johnny can take from Westmont to aid him in this challenge," continued Wolf. The first is the understanding and belief that God is in control. No matter how sideways things get - and they will get sideways, I can absolutely guarantee him that - he can use that truth to cope with those situations.

"The other thing he can utilize is that he has worked extremely hard to get to this point. Ultimately, what separates players, even at the elite level, is their willingness to put their whole heart and soul into an endeavor.

"He will now be with people who are equally if not more talented than he is. What makes him a special player has as much to do with his work ethic and his willingness to role up his sleeves as with his pure talent. I think that happens in our program. I think when athletes leave Westmont they are not put off by having to put in an honest day's work. I hope that will serve him as he gets in situations where it does get really hard and he's being challenged physically to reach for something more."

Alcaraz certainly appears armed with a realistic attitude as he heads to Houston.

"The past month I have been going to all these combines and tryouts," reflected Alcaraz. "I feel like I have been playing well, but not to my full potential like I played here at Westmont. My mindset is to go into training camp and remember all the things I know I can do and to integrate those into practice.

"There are going to be players at camp who are threatened by me because I'm the new one and they don't want their spot taken. But I am going in there with a killer instinct of taking someone's spot because this is a job. I'm trying to go in with a lot of confidence and be mentally strong.

"Being firm in Christ is a good thing for me because I know that I am not in charge of this world and that I need to rely on him for strength. I know he is faithful and that he will give me the strength to go through it."