A year ago, Carlos Arredondo was nearly unstoppable tallying 15 goals for the Bonita Vista Barons Soccer Team. This year he has returned for his senior season and he is hungry for more.

“Last year, with his 15 goals Carlos was awesome for us,” said veteran Barons coach, Jason Murphy. “He is going to be my only forward this year in our 4-5-1 set-up and I am expecting a whole lot out of him. He will be our go-to guy. He’s a great kid with good grades and one that does everything I ask of him. He has very quick feet and step over moves and he finishes well. He is just a very fast and very skilled player.” 

Unlike many elite players Arredondo didn’t have older brothers or parents that were involved in the sport.

“I played baseball first, but then when I was about eight years old I started playing soccer. I don’t play baseball anymore. I find soccer more exciting and faster.”

While Arredondo was born here and has spent most of his life on this side of the border he enjoyed visiting his relatives in Cuernavaca while he was growing up. Soccer was one of many things that he shared in common with his Mexican relatives during those visits.

At the age of eight started with recreational leagues and then moved up to more and more competitive traveling teams. Over the years, Arredondo has gradually improved to the point where he is one of the top players in the South Bay. He was selected an All-Mesa League player after his sophomore and junior seasons and at the same time qualified twice for the All-Academic teams.

As good as Arredondo has become, he is always looking to improve.

“I have good speed and dribbling skills, but I need to work on my long distance shooting,” he said.

Arredondo also spends a lot of time watching the game and learning from the world’s best. He prefers the British Premier League over the Mexican League or the MLS and considers Chelsea’s Didier Drogba his favorite player.

Arredondo is not the only player with talent at Bonita Vista. This year’s team is loaded with talent. With that talent come equally large expectations.

“Last year we finished second or third in league behind an awesome Chula Vista team and made it to the quarterfinals of the CIF Tournament. I think we have the talent to win it all this season.”

Following his graduation in June, Arredondo expects to pursue an engineering degree and play soccer in college. UCLA, UCSD, UC Irvine or Sacramento State, are the schools he is currently considering.