Velez to walk on with UWA soccer

Nearly three years ago, Cristian Velez was attempting to learn English and transition to life in rural west Alabama after moving from Mexico City, Mexico.

“It was hard. I didn’t speak any English. It was hard,” Velez said Thursday as he sat just a few feet from a small crowd of friends, family and supporters in the lobby that adjoins LuLu’s and the Chu Clinic in Demopolis.

The constant for Velez as he adapted to life not only in a new place but in a new culture, was the Beautiful Game.

“I started when I was six years old, almost 12 years ago,” Velez said of his beginnings in soccer, a sport that helped ease him into his new home in a way that few other things could. “I just did whatever I could. I played soccer.

Soccer removed barriers for Velez. It made him friendships. It welcomed him as not only a participant on the Demopolis High School team, but as a key contributor from the very outset. Thursday, soccer did something else for Velez as he was able to celebrate the next chapter with his friends, teammates, family and Demopolis City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff. That chapter, one that is built around enrolling at the University of West Alabama where Velez will walk on to play soccer in hopes of parlaying his standout skill set into a collegiate scholarship offer.

“I’m very excited. I really wanted to go to college, do new things, play soccer,” Velez said.

Velez posed for photographs with those in attendance and then gathered himself to read a statement he had prepared in advance of the occasion.

“I would like to thank my family. They have done a lot of things. They have helped me to get where I am today. I’m going to miss the soccer team and all my friends,” Velez said. “But I am excited to go to college to start a new experience and do new things and meet new friends and meet new people. I just want to say, ‘Thank you.’”

Noted for his uniquely special speed on the pitch, Velez battled through injuries during his senior season and finished as the second leading goal scorer for the Tigers, converting 25 shots in 14 games.