RAMIREZ MAKES MOST OF NEW OPPORTUNITY

Cesar Ramirez wasn’t a starter for the Northside Grizzlies soccer team until his senior season. He also was playing a different position. Ramirez, though, kept things in perspective even when he was coming off the bench. “I was getting about 15 to 20 minutes each game,” Ramirez said. “It’s difficult when you don’t get much playing time, but in high school, you’ve got to be patient, there’s a lot of competition. Last year, we had a very good team, so sometimes you’ve just got to wait your turn.” Now that he’s a starter, Ramirez is making the most of his opportunity. He leads the Grizzlies with nine goals on the season. “I think I’m doing a pretty good job,” Ramirez said. “I’ve got nine goals this season so far, so I think I’ve been helping the team out, but for me it’s mostly about the results that we get as a team rather than the goals.” He’s also playing forward after having played right back in the past. It was something else which suited Ramirez just fine. “It was actually a better move for me because I’ve been playing forward since I was young. ... That was my actual position when I started playing soccer,” Ramirez said. “I’ve always been offensive-minded, so that move from defender to forward really kind of helped me out and I think it was a good move for me.” Northside coach Mauricio Maciel also likes how Ramirez took advantage of his new role. “He was on the varsity last year coming off the bench and giving us good minutes, but this is a year where he really has solidified himself as a player,” Maciel said. “Initially, we had planned for him to be a defender, which he can play anywhere on the field, but given his potential up on top as a striker, we changed our mind early on to instead play him as a forward, so he does have a nose for finding the goal.” In addition, Maciel likes the leadership qualities Ramirez possesses, so much so that he’s a co-captain for the Grizzlies along with fellow senior Kareem Ihmeidan. Likewise, Ramirez embraced that role as well. More Video: Much needed rain falls in Fort Smith on Friday, March 24, 2017. “I feel like I’m a good motivator for my teammates; I keep them on their toes and whenever I see that someone is down or someone made a mistake, I just tell them to keep their head up and keep playing their game,” Ramirez said. “You can tell when your team is not playing their game and you need someone out there that can point that out to them and bring them back into their rhythm, so I think I do a pretty good job of that.” Despite a tough 2-1 loss at home Tuesday to Little Rock Catholic (with Ramirez scoring the team’s only goal), the Grizzlies have been turning in a surprising season so far, going 8-2 overall and 2-1 in the 7A-Central, although Ramirez insists he hasn’t been surprised by the team’s solid start. “It’s not really a surprise,” Ramirez said. “We lost some key players, but I think this year, the lack that we may have in skill we made up for in heart. Definitely, the kids want it more this year and I think that’s what really put us into the position that we are now. “I think that heart really keeps us from feeling too comfortable throughout the season; I think the players come in and they want to learn something new every day in practice, so that’s good for us and that will definitely help us throughout the season as the season goes on, we’ll keep getting better and better and we’ll start finding our rhythm.” Ramirez, who has been playing soccer since he was 6, is just as devoted to his studies, as he is a straight-A student with a 3.8 grade-point average. He credits his parents, mother Blanca Velazquez and father Jose Ramirez, for making sure education came first. “As a person, academically he tries to do the very best that he can and his GPA says that is the case,” Maciel said. “He’s also one of our captains for the simple reason that not only is he a skillful player but more importantly, he always does the right thing. He always brings the right uniform for practice, he always has the best demeanor in practice so he’s a very well-rounded player, not only person but player. “He’s the kind of kid that you wish you could clone him, you could have him forever.” Ramirez and the Grizzlies now seek to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss when they travel to face Conway in another important 7A-Central match today. “I think the team has to keep working hard, definitely stay hungry and we’ve got to stop being a second-half team,” Ramirez said. “We’ve got to come out and start playing our game from the start and I think the boys are starting to realize that and I think the rhythm’s going to come soon and it’s just a matter of time.”

RAMIREZ MAKES MOST OF NEW OPPORTUNITY

BUCK RINGGOLD

SW Times-Record | 3/31/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie Mitchell