Daily Pilot High School Athlete of the Week: Alfonso Pineda

Steve Virgen

The question that is usually heard when Costa Mesa High’s Alfonso

Pineda plays soccer is, “Are you sure this kid is a freshman?”

Pineda, a ninth-grade starting forward for the Mustangs, has been

using his quickness to overcome first-year jitters and his talent to

vault past the competition.

“At first I was scared about varsity soccer,” said Pineda, who is

5-foot-5. “I was thinking that there would be some big guys. It’s great

to be one of the small people. That fear went away. Throughout the games,

I started to gain more confidence. (Starting on varsity) is going to help

me out a lot in the future.”

Pineda assuredly gained confidence from his performance in the

Magnolia Tournament last week. His hat trick was the exclamation point of

the Mustangs’ 7-0 victory over Troy in the title game, as Mesa repeated

as champions Dec. 28. The day before, Pineda went for two goals and one

assist in a 7-0 win over John Glenn of Norwalk. Overall, Pineda’s skills

helped the Mustangs outscore opponents, 22-0, posting four shutouts and

outshooting the opposition 77-15, in the four games of the tourney.

“He’s having a great year,” Costa Mesa Coach Eugene Day said of the

Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week. “He’s been right there when we need him

to be. He’s not a ninth-grader as far as soccer goes. He’s a pure

striker. He just goes after it. You could teach him the basics, but he

just takes it to the next level. He has a great attitude, too.”

Against Troy, Pineda played more like a three-year varsity letterman

than like a ninth-grader dreaming about a patch for his varsity jacket.

His speed is a key for the Mustangs’ quick-strike, fast-break-type

offense.

“Alfonso was just on fire in the final,” Day said. “He was everywhere.

This kid has such a shot on him and he’s only a ninth-grader. Two of the

goals he got were just all him when he kept on running in toward the

goal.”

Pineda’s passion for soccer has been a big reason for his early

success, Day said. Pineda has been making regular trips to the practice

field at Costa Mesa, where he sometimes plays by himself. He runs wind

sprints and goes all out during soccer drills he learned from Day. Pineda

also sets aside time to act out scoring scenarios. He’s wavering on

whether he should unveil his celebrations.

“I just want to get better,” Pineda said. “The thing I’m thinking

about the most is scoring.”

Pineda’s desire to put the ball in the back of the net has been the

foundation of his game from when he started to play at age 6. However,

his knowledge and skills didn’t prevent the insecurities he initially had

before the season. Teammates like senior Eli Solis, who also plays

forward, have been helping Pineda attain confidence and learn quickly.

“I was shocked to make varsity,” Pineda said. “When I did make it,

that just gave me more confidence. And Eli has been helping me out. He

gives me advice, which really has helped me.”

Last year, Pineda, who went to Costa Mesa Intermediate, watched Mesa’s

soccer team win its first varsity league title behind the help of

forwards Trinidad Hernandez and Bernardo Falci, who are both gone after

graduating in the spring. Pineda soon became aware he had to fill the

shoes of those players, while Solis has also been making Mustang

followers realize that this season’s team could actually be better than

last year’s squad.

“Alfonso has made things a lot easier,” Day said. “Eli has stepped up.

And with Alfonso coming in, we’re just blessed to have those two guys.

(Pineda) has grown in terms of what he needs to do and so far they have

all been working well as a team.”