Anthony Remedios is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Paradise Valley High School for AZPreps365.com.

Playing a sport for the first time is not an easy task, but when young athletes do, it can be the experience of a lifetime.

“It’s probably one of the best times of my life,” said Paradise Valley senior wide receiver and kicker Erick Reyes-Aguilera.

Reyes-Aguilera has played soccer his whole life prior to this season and was encouraged to play football by his soccer coach Brett Bowman, despite his friends’ participation in various soccer clubs.

“At PV, we try to encourage a lot of our athletes to be multi-sport athletes and to be involved in as many as they are able to,” Bowman said. “So to see him out there helping out on the football field and knowing that he can come help us on the soccer team later, that’s what we want to see.”

The Reyes-Aguilera family recently moved to Arizona from Mexico, so American football was entirely new for Erick.

“I just fell in love with the sport in the first practice,” Reyes-Aguilera said. “Catching balls and routing just clicked with me. And kicking the ball was fun.”

Erick Reyes-Aguilera makes a point-after attempt after a touchdown versus McClintock on Oct. 29. (Anthony Remedios / AZPreps365.com)

 

While there are similar skills required for both sports, such as creating routes and reading other players, and of course kicking, the transition was not easy. However, Reyes-Aguilera said he was very well supported by his teammates, who were always offering tips and explanations to help him get better.

Conversely, Bowman said Reyes-Aguilera has been a mentor to other students too as he encourages them to get involved and is always willing to help them out, especially his peers who speak English as a second language. For example, Reyes-Aguilera helped those students sign up for soccer tryouts, some of whom have now made the team.

Like most sports, the football team began conditioning over the summer, a time that was crucial for Reyes-Aguilera.

“I really enjoyed that time with the coaches and my teammates,” he said, “and that’s when I decided I wanted to play football this season no matter what.”

“All his teammates love him and he’s fun to be around,” football head coach Greg Davis said. “He would give you the shirt off his back, which is [very] representative of what we want in our school and the Trojan Pride that we have.”

Another big moment for Reyes-Aguilera was his senior night against South Mountain on Oct. 22. He struggled in the first half, which sparked a shift in his mentality as he sat in the locker room in what would be his final halftime at home.

Reyes-Aguilera made a few big plays in the Trojans’ second-half 40-30 comeback win and finished the game with three receptions, including a 46-yarder, for a total of 87 yards and one touchdown, according to MaxPreps.

“It’s crazy to think about the fact that he really didn’t know anything about football and decided to come out, and he was our best receiver and one of our biggest weapons on offense,” Davis said.

Davis describes Reyes-Aguilera as a “very coachable, always happy, very competitive kid who doesn’t like to lose but knows how to control his emotions.”

Reyes-Aguilera now returns to the soccer field for the winter season and is considering running track in the spring.

Erick is undecided about his future as he awaits possible soccer recruiting offers but said Arizona State University is a strong consideration.

Reyes-Aguilera appreciates the life lessons he has learned from football

“It taught me to never stop working and always do things better,” he said.

“He has all his athletic skills and the fact that he comes into a game like football, which is not an easy game to learn, and not only does very athletic things, but learns the rules of the game … it just shows the kind of young man he is,” Davis said.