Larkin’s Rodriguez a true leader

Larkin Royals’ boys soccer captain Erik Rodriguez puts his heart and soul into playing and excelling in the sport he loves every single day.

Rodriguez was a huge key to the Royals’ success this season, as they finished with a 14-7-4 record overall but had their season cut unexpectedly short by the Bartlett Hawks in the regional final.

Rodriguez recorded 22 goals and 14 assists for his team this season and for his stellar performance, the junior forward has been selected the honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald’s Fox Valley all-area team. He shares the honor with Cary-Grove’s Drew Conner. Rodriguez becomes the fourth Larkin player to earn the award since 1995.

“I was happy,” said Rodriguez of his performance as well as the team’s for the 2011 campaign. “I had plenty of goals and assists, and the team played extremely well.”

Rodriguez was forced to miss the last six games of the regular season after being suspended by the IHSA for participating in a club match with his older brother, David. The suspension was disappointing for Rodriguez; but he came back strong in the regional semifinal against St. Charles East, where he notched a goal and an assist to help his team get to the regional final.

“I wasn’t too happy about that, but it was a fair consequence,” he said. “I’m glad I got to play again in the playoffs.”

“He’s extremely confident,” said Larkin head coach Ken Hall. “With the six games that he missed, we could see that when he came back he just instills that confidence into everybody else on the team. He’s a great leader in that aspect.”

Hall knows that having Rodriguez on the field for the Royals gives them an edge in any game.

“We might have bad games, but his ability to score allows us at times to win games that maybe we shouldn’t be winning,” Hall said with a laugh. “In a soccer game, scoring is the key; and that’s really what he brings to the team.”

Before missing the time at the end of the season, Rodriguez had some amazing moments for the Royals. His most memorable was in Larkin’s game against Streamwood, where he assisted on the game-winning goal to come back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half and win the game 2-1.

“That was the most memorable game, being our first conference game,” said Rodriguez. “There was no score after the first half, and then we started losing. Then we came back to win and I gave the winning goal. I was really happy after that game.”

Leading a highly talented team like Larkin may not be an easy task, but it’s the way that Rodriguez carries himself with confidence during a game that gets his teammates to look up to him. He has been doing everything he can this season to take on that role, and has really become a true captain for the Royals.

“I’m trying to be a leader out there,” he said. “Coach always says that we need the leader to lead the team when the game isn’t really going our way, so I’m trying to put extra work on my leadership skills this year.”

“He’s not a yeller, he’s not going to jump up and down and get everybody to go,” said Hall. “It‘s more of a quiet confidence and quiet leadership that he brings to the team.”

Rodriguez is a firm believer that Larkin can compete with the elite teams in the area, and as a leader going into his senior year, he will instill that belief on the rest of his team.

“We have to make the team believe that we’re good enough to play against these other teams,” he said. “For us to be a smaller school playing against bigger ones, people tend to think that we’re not as good. Sometimes our players think that’s true, so we’ve got to motivate them to believe that we can compete against other schools. We’ve got to work for it too, without work there isn’t anything. We have talent, but it’s the work that gets you farther; so we work hard and I think it’s paying off.”

Rodriguez’s love for soccer began when he was five years old, with the help of his dad and older brother David, who was named honorary captain of the Daily Herald’s all-area team in 2007.

“My dad got me into it, but my brother has been the one who has been mentoring me ever since I was little,” Erik Rodriguez said. “I’ve always tried to follow in his footsteps.”

The intensity and pressure of sports brings out the best in the athletes who play them. The fast-paced nature of soccer along with the fierce level of competition is what fuels Rodriguez to succeed not only as a player, but as a leader of this Larkin Royals team.

“I just love everything about soccer,” he said. “It’s my passion. Ever since I started playing, I fell in love with it. The pressure it brings to you, it makes you do things that you thought you weren’t capable of doing. I’m just happy to be out there and I try to have as much fun as I possibly can, and hopefully things go our way.”

As far as professional soccer goes, Rodriguez looks up to former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy for his moves on the field.

“I love his finishing skills,” Rodriguez said of Van Nistelrooy. “I always try to copy him. He’s my favorite player.”

The junior captain already knows that he wants to continue playing in college, and looks forward to the decision making process that is to come as his senior year approaches.

“I have thought about playing in college,” said Rodriguez. “I’ve gotten numerous emails and everything. Playing in college for a Division I school would be one of my dreams come true.”