As the Rodriguez brothers watched their youngest brother first start to pick up soccer, they knew even then that he had the potential to be the best of them.
Just 4 years old when his eldest brother, Uriel, was named the 2011 Foothill League boys’ soccer Player of the Year after his senior campaign at Hart High School, Diego Rodriguez has been around the program his entire life.
After Uriel earned the honor of the Foothill League’s top player, the second brother, Brayon, earned that distinction in 2014. The third brother, Jeysen, had his sights on joining his older brothers on that list, but a broken foot cut his senior campaign short in 2015.
In a recent phone interview, Diego said watching Jeysen go through that experience gave him some extra motivation to try to become the Player of the Year himself.
“It was something I had on my mind at the start of the season, knowing that two of my brothers won it their senior season,” Diego said. “So, I kind of took that as a sort of challenge, you can say, like as a motivation to win that award.”
That dream turned into a reality, with Diego earning Player of the Year honors after helping the Hart Hawks to their eighth consecutive league title, going 12-0 in the process. He also helped the Hawks to the CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinals, which went the way of the Loyola Cubs, before the Hawks won their first game in the state Open Division over El Camino Real.
But what made the award more special for Diego, and his brothers, was having Jeysen be one of the assistant coaches and helping to guide the youngest of the Rodriguez brothers to what has become a family tradition.
“I think it was just like a testament to all the hard work that all of us as brothers have put into him,” Jeysen said in a phone interview. “My mom was the one that would take him every single day of practice, to games. And I think it was just really fulfilling to see all that end the way it did for him, to get that recognition that he deserved.”
Growing up within walking distance of Hart High School in Newhall, Diego was always following his brothers around to their games. And when they weren’t competing, they would be kicking the ball around together at nearby Newhall Park or at the school field.
It was during those family training sessions when Jeysen said it was clear that Diego would likely turn out to be the best of them all.
“For most people, the sport doesn’t come naturally,” Jeysen said. “And for him, you can see that the way his body moves, shifts, he just has natural talent. He can dribble past opponents. He can pick out a beautiful ball that ends up as an assist. And, yeah, I think that that just comes from him playing at a really high level at a really young age.”
After impressing coaches while growing up playing for Real So Cal — today known as LAFC So Cal — Diego was 11 years old when he eventually made his way to Total Futbol Academy, part of the MLS NEXT program, which is managed and organized by Major League Soccer.
But while he was excited for the opportunity to showcase his talents as a starter at one of the highest youth levels in the United States, there was a snag: Diego wasn’t allowed to play for Hart High while also playing for TFA.
Diego played on the freshman basketball team during his freshman year at Hart, which he said he found came naturally because he was faster and had better stamina than the other players, and the vision he had on the soccer field carried over to the hardwood.
Yet playing soccer at Hart, like his three older brothers, was always on Diego’s mind. He made the decision during his sophomore year to return to LAFC So Cal so that he could play for his school team, though he knew he still had to earn a spot on a team that was dominant in the Foothill League year in and year out.
“I knew it was going to be something obviously challenging,” Diego said, “but something I was looking forward to. I wasn’t afraid to play and see what I can bring to the table.”
After the Hawks won the league title that season, 2014 Hart alumnus Alex Bernal — a friend of the Rodriguez family after Bernal played with both Uriel and Brayon growing up — took over as head coach prior to Diego’s junior campaign. Bernal said he was looking forward to seeing how the youngest Rodriguez brother would fare being one of the focal points of the team, and he wasn’t disappointed.
Bernal said he’s known a few of the seniors from this past season’s team, one that he said helped to put Hart soccer on the map in Southern California, since they were little kids as well, but that he knew Diego would be able to lead the team.
“He has a personality, a fun personality, but when it was time to be on the field and playing games, he’d be able to motivate the guys and just fight with everything,” Bernal said in a recent phone interview. “It made it a lot easier knowing I could trust someone on the field from the very moment I got on as a coach.”
It wasn’t just that Diego had the talent or the IQ needed to rise above everyone else, Bernal said. Not the tallest, strongest or fastest player on the field, Bernal said Diego’s work ethic both offensively and defensively helps to set him apart.
“I knew he’d be good in uncomfortable situations,” Bernal said. “But sometimes when a player is one of the better players on the team, they tend to slack off defensively. I couldn’t have asked more, from not just him, but all the other guys. They had a tremendous junior season, and they came in and could have just been full of egos, but I didn’t really see that, and I think Diego plays a huge part in that.”
Jeysen said that after not being able to finish his high school career the way he wanted, he took up a position as an assistant to Bernal so he could help not just the team succeed, but also push Diego to do everything he wasn’t able to do himself.
“I saw myself in that kid,” Jeysen said. “And all the great memories and beautiful goals and all the memories that he created were something really special to see. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, but for him to have that.”
Diego ended up with 11 goals and 10 assists during his senior season at Hart. But both Bernal and Jeysen said those numbers don’t tell the story of how much of an impact he had in games.
“He probably had balls that led to goals that were just as crucial as assists or goals,” Bernal said. “I don’t think this is a team where we look at the stats and show how good we were this season. We had very unselfish moments. I think it was against West Ranch, he probably should have been the one taking a penalty, but he gave it to the teammate who got fouled, and that’s another goal, a penalty opportunity that probably would have been a goal, more stats, but I think his unselfishness goes beyond that.”
That unselfishness has carried over to Diego’s personal life. When not playing soccer or at school, he cuts hair for friends and family, using that time to learn more about what they are going through.
“I enjoy talking to my clients, or to my friends, about their day and just like boosting their confidence and making them feel good about themselves,” Diego said.
Becoming a barber is one option that Diego has for his future. But his dream is still to play soccer at the college level, and perhaps even beyond that.
“I’d hopefully want to go play college soccer, even if that’s not starting off at Division I or Division II, but hopefully, like, maybe going to a (junior college) and then transferring out. I just want to know what that experience is like, and then from there, leave it all in God’s hands. And whatever he has planned for me, I won’t question it.”
