Leadership plays a vital role in every successful team, business, or organization. Seniors Dominick Ziaja and Austin Okada are co-captains for the LFHS varsity boys soccer team.
Everybody has their own interpretation of what it means to be captain. It doesn’t matter if you’re the captain of your sports team or club at LFHS, each captain’s understanding has a unifying theme. For example, looking out for the group’s best interest, or setting a positive example for everyone to follow.
Ziaja and Okada were voted captains by their teammates because of the commitment they have made both to themselves and the team. They both started their journey to captain long before their senior season.
“I can always remember playing soccer early continuously through my childhood,” said Okada.
Since a young age, they’ve played in rec leagues like AYSO, and have continued to do so. These two have dedicated their young lives to mastering their skills and tuning their understanding of the game to the best of their ability.
Any athlete is bound to suffer tough losses while also earning well-fought victories. Austin’s ‘favorite victory’ came when he was only 12 years old while for a club called 60 United.
“I still remember it today because I scored two goals from half field in that one game,” said Okada.
Other than victories, individual performance can make or break a player’s career. For Dominick, the “best” game he played happened when he was just 14. He was at a tournament in Orlando, Florida and his whole family was there to see it.
“I had 2 assists and a goal and really turned my soccer game around. I was becoming more of an attacker on defense,” said Ziaja.
Even though the start of this tournament was slow, in the end, things picked up and he was able to demonstrate his hard work to his coach and family.
While this just seems like one small game or an outlier in comparison to every other time Ziaja steps on the field, it’s not.
Just recently when the Scouts took on the Deerfield Warriors, Ziaja had one goal and one assist.
Being a captain for any team at any level is a huge accomplishment. One of the most important things that captains want is for your teammates to trust.
“I think my teammates see me as a player who can turn on in big moments and be a player who my guys can rely on,” said Ziaja.
Chemistry allows a team to become better than the individual. Including everyone while being understanding has a big part in building that chemistry. Having a positive leader for the team is great because it gives the team an example to follow.
“Being the Captain of the Varsity team is about being a leader both on and off the field for everyone, regardless of grade or whether or not they start,” said Okada.
While both of their meanings are different, they both have common themes of wanting what is best for the team and setting a positive example for the team both on and off the field.
Ziaja and Okada have proven that hard work and dedication do pay off with not only recognition but also positive results.
Last year (22-23), the Scouts soccer team was 5-11-2, and this year (23-24), with 5 games left to play, the Scouts are 6-6-1. Although there are still many games left, the team has great momentum and with the confidence of their elected captains, there is still much potential for the team. Ziaja and Okada have played a massive role for the positive production of the Scouts both on and off the field.
