Southwest Orange Observer: Sports Spotlight — Christian Lizyness

A junior on the Olympia boys soccer team, Christian Lizyness is a goal-scoring machine and leader for head coach Lou Romao’s side. Through four games this season — all wins — the team co-captain leads the Titans with a whopping 15 goals, while also accounting for two assists.

When — and why — did you first get into soccer?

I’ve been playing soccer since I first moved here from Michigan — when I was about 3. At first I was playing recreational, but after the first two or three months I moved into club. What inspired me was that it was something to do. My family has been athletic, and my dad played hockey in high school, but it’s kind of hard to play hockey in Florida so we tried something new. We just decided to try soccer and it worked out.

What has been your favorite thing about playing soccer at Olympia?

It’s a little different than club — I feel like here they are a little bit more like family. With my club (Rush) it’s also a family, because we have been playing together for many years now, but here you go to school with them, you see them throughout the day and then you go play soccer with them later. You’re just more connected to them.

What is the hardest part about playing soccer?

It’s just keeping yourself healthy. I mean, if you get a slight injury it can build up, so you have to be sure to ice yourself or be sure to put some Icy Hot on you so you can prevent that in the future or heal what you already have injured. I’ve gotten many injuries throughout these last few years — my freshman year I fractured my elbow … and then last year I pulled a muscle in my back and sprained my ankle.

What’s the most fun aspect of playing soccer?

I love scoring, that’s fun and it’s always a thrill and an adrenaline rush. Personally I like running — when your team is not doing well and you’re not doing well it’s not a lot of fun, but when you see that you’re moving the ball really well with each other it brings you a lot of joy, because you see all your hard work paying off.

What would you say are the best words of advice you’ve been given about soccer?

What my dad has always said — I think it’s from a movie or a book — but, “Hard work beats talent.” 

Is soccer something you’d like to do at the collegiate level?

I’ve thought about this, and definitely. I also take school very seriously — I have good grades — and I’m into engineering and all of the medical fields. I guess I have options, but I’ve been playing (soccer) for so long that if I wasn’t wanting to be in it, I probably would have been done by now. I feel like it would be really cool to play soccer at the college and professional level, but I’m not 100% sure … if I get offers I’m happy with, I’ll definitely take them.