Udayveer (Uday) Makkar is a soccer player. Ask him about other sports or topics outside of soccer, and you may find yourself right back on the the topic of the beautiful game once again. This is because soccer is what matters most to this Panther freshman.

Some kids start playing because their family plays or their friends play or they are just interested in the sport. Udayveer started playing when he first saw it on TV. “I was flipping through channels, and I came across this channel, and they were playing soccer. It looked pretty cool and interesting,” he said.  “Also, I was looking for a sport to play, so I tried it and it was fun for me.”

First he played just for fun, and then he started playing for an organized team. Now Uday plays for a team called RUSH and for Paint Branch High School.

While other soccer players start playing when they are younger, Uday started when he was 10. While this delay could have affected his level of play as he tried to catch up to his peers, Uday was able to close the gap quickly and now is just as good as someone who has been playing since they were four or five. As to how he managed to catch up to his peers, Uday credits hard work and practice. His practice helps him become better and better. “I practice four or five times a week, sometimes more. Sometimes rain and snow stops me,” he says.

His role models, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta both play for Barcelona, which is his favorite team. He styles his game after Messi and Iniesta. He says, “I try to use their techniques and passing skills.”

Udayveer has numerous strengths and some weaknesses as well. He says, “I have a lot of aggressiveness, which helps me field the ball and my shooting and passing skills are pretty good. But my tackling skills could be improved.”

 He says that to improve his game he practices a couple times a week. All he does is put time into it, but in order to do that he has to cut other things out of his day such as video games and free time. Uday also watches many of soccer games, which he says is pretty helpful, because “you can imitate their moves.”

He has learned some life lessons in his short journey of playing soccer. He says, “You have to stay focused, even though it may seem difficult sometimes, but staying focused will get you far; determination too.”

Persistence is one word used to describe his approach to soccer. He puts time into his practice and does not give up. That’s why his advice to younger soccer players is “no matter what happens, you can’t give up. If you’re losing by three goals, there’s still a possibility you can win.”

Regarding his future soccer goals, he says, “My goal in the next year is to improve enough to make it into varsity in sophomore year. I believe if I practice enough, I’ll be able to make it to college soccer.”