Joel Walker

Steve Virgen

In basketball, when shooters catch fire, they are thought to be in

the zone. Joel Walker, a Newport Harbor High senior, was able to find

that zone, but in soccer, scoring five goals in one game and seven in

one day.

Walker’s five goals, two on penalty kicks, led the Sailors to a

7-1 win over Burroughs of Ridgecrest in a ninth-place semifinal at

the Trabuco Hills tournament Saturday. He scored two more goals to

help give Newport a 4-0 win over Santa Ana Valley in the ninth-place

final later that day.

The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week also scored two goals in a 3-1

pool-play win over Tesoro to open the tournament Friday. The Sailors

went 3-1 in the tourney and Walker scored nine goals in the

victories. He was in the zone indeed, especially against Burroughs.

“I was really in the zone in that game,” said Walker, a starting

forward for the Sailors. “I was putting every thing away in that

game. I had some luck with the PKs and it wasn’t all me. It was all

the [Newport] players helping me out. They were building it up and I

just happened to be the one putting them in.”

Walker was able to score because the teams in the tournament did

not know much about him. He took advantage and by the time the game

ended, he had two defenders marking him. Against Burroughs, he was

still able to get behind the defense in that situation.

On one occasion, he was fouled, but still found a way to score by

collecting the penalty kick. What’s more remarkable about Walker’s

five-goal performance is that he sat out five minutes in the first

half because he was assessed a yellow card and Newport Coach Ryan

Hernandez took him out with 15 minutes left in the game because the

Sailors had already secured victory.

However, shooters usually remember the one that got away, and

Walker was no different.

“I did have one shot that went off the cross bar,” Walker said.

“It would have been better than all of the goals I got, but it didn’t

go in.”

Walker credited his successful run in the Trabuco Hills tournament

to the hard work he put in during the off-season. He said he trained

with Jason Boyce, a former Corona del Mar standout who was a member

of the under-17 U.S. national team and also competed in Major League

Soccer.

Walker also aspires to play professionally and that was one of the

reasons he dedicated much of his time to soccer. Before that

opportunity comes, Walker said he wants to compete in college.

Overall, there was a greater, yet simple reason he has been

working tirelessly to perform better.

“I love soccer,” Walker said. “It’s my passion. No contest.

Nothing is a greater sport to me. Ever since I was a kid I’ve been

infatuated with the game. I watch four games a week on TV. I don’t

know what it is. It’s just mesmerizing.”

Walker also appreciates the game so much because six years ago it

was almost taken away from him. In fact, he almost lost his life. He

suffered third-degree burns when he slipped into a mud pit while

sightseeing near a volcano in Hawaii.

He was in Hawaii because he was in a soccer tournament with a

youth team that also included Warren Junowich and Brian Campos, who

are teammates on the Newport boys soccer squad.

Walker said onlookers formed a human chain to get him out of the

hot pit, but the damage was done. However, Walker rehabilitated and

continued his love for the game.

Walker’s passion for soccer was at an all-time high last week. But

he and Coach Hernandez are hopeful there is greater success in the

near future.

“With Joel, the goals are going to come, it’s just a matter of how

many he’s going to get,” Hernandez said. “You just can’t keep up with

him. He can step up in any situation, basically. That’s why he’s such

a key player. There’s no stopping what he can do. He’s just so

dangerous. You can’t touch him.”

Hernandez said Walker’s speed is what usually sets him apart from

other players. Walker did not attain that speed until he was 12. He

said that’s when he started to work out and build his speed. His

quickness and his skills helped him earn a spot on the Olympic

Development Program Southern California team for boys born in 1986.

He was recruited among 40 players and then made the cut of 18.

Yet for all the skills, Walker is more concerned with victories.

“I felt great after that game [against Burroughs],” Walkers said.

“And I feel good after those kind of games. But to me a win is a win.

I’m just always thankful that I’m healthy and able to contribute to

the team.”