Santa Clarita Valley International boys soccer player Adin Kuric, a junior, was honored by MaxPreps and United Soccer Coaches as the California Boys Player of the Week in the middle of January after a stellar nine goals and six assists performance over a two-game stretch.
“Sometimes you have those games where you’re out of it a little bit, but those two games I was locked in and playing the best I’ve played in a long time,” Kuric said in a phone interview. “It felt great. It’s awesome to get the recognition after I put so much work into it.”
Kuric first found out he received the commendation shortly after SCVi’s second to last match of the season. He always likes to check his stats on MaxPreps after his matches but saw something peculiar this time.
Under his MaxPreps profile, Kuric saw a tab for news and decided to click on it. At the top of the ‘News Page’ was a banner that read, “MaxPreps/United Soccer Coaches POTW.” Overwhelmed with excitement, he darted downstairs to share the news with his family.
“The first thing that I really thought of was, “Holy cow, they picked me!” Kuric said. “It made me feel so good. The amount of work I was putting in on the field was being recognized.”
Receiving recognition has opened up a whole new world to him. Since getting the award, Kuric has been receiving praise from the entire Santa Clarita Valley and has even garnered some attention from colleges across the nation.
“I’m just loving the positive feedback that I’m getting from the community,” he said. “I’ve already gotten a few emails from colleges to play their ID camps. This has been a huge milestone in my career so far.”
An ID camp is a showcase that universities put on and invite players from around the country so they can get a chance to scout them in person. It also gives the players an opportunity to meet coaches and see the campus.
Kuric was invited to one camp in Pittsburgh and another in Virginia. The newfound attention has got him feeling good and has him thinking about the next step after he graduates in 2021.
“That’s my next step to finish high school and play college soccer,” he said. “I think the recognition I got is great and will give me a higher chance to get reached out to by colleges. Honestly, I think this boosted me a little bit.”
He said he has interest in the schools that have reached out to him already, but his dream would be to have the opportunity to play at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
“For me, any college that’s interested in me, I’m interested in,” Kuric said. “Obviously, GCU is my first choice, but if I can go and have fun and improve my game somewhere it doesn’t matter where I play.”
As a high school junior, Kuric has had the opportunity to start looking at college’s and visiting campuses. However, something about GCU stood out to him.
“I have a friend that goes to that college and he told me the campus is awesome and the school is amazing,” Kuric said. “I’ve visited numerous colleges but the feeling I got from (GCU) and the staff we talked to fit with me. I hope they communicate with me in the future.”
For now, he still has one more year at SCVi to build upon what he’s already done. But winning another award isn’t in his sights, he just wants to play the sport he loves.
“To me, the awards are great, but I feel like there’s so much more than the awards,” Kuric said. “If I was never to get an award again, I would still enjoy playing. It’s great that I got it, but I just want to focus on my craft now and not let it take over my headspace. That’s what my senior year is going to be for me.”
