Rahul Herrero (12) vividly recalls watching his teammate dive to block an incoming ball with bated breath. It was the final tournament of the season, and the fate of the club soccer game had come down to penalty kicks. As the ball sailed into the net on the final penalty, his team’s imminent victory hinged on just one essential block.

“Somehow after five penalties, each side had only scored one goal,” Rahul said, recalling the suspenseful moment with acuity. “Our goalkeeper saved the final penalty, and we just swarmed him. We jumped all over him. It was like we won the World Cup.”

Since the age of 4, Rahul has been deeply invested in soccer, and his love for the sport has served as a channel of connection with his entire family. Avid fans of Real Madrid, a professional Spanish soccer club, Rahul and his dad bonded over countless matches, cultivating a greater appreciation for the game.

“I wouldn’t have become a soccer fan without my dad,” Rahul said. “We’ll watch games in front of the TV for hours, just screaming at the tops of our lungs. Every time I see a crazy comeback, I remember those moments of screaming.”

Entering high school with a deep-rooted love for soccer, Rahul joined the upper school boys soccer team in ninth grade, where he continued to hone his athletic skills. Aside from helping him find a community, soccer also brought out a fierce competitive drive in Rahul. Through soccer, Rahul learned to value precision and accuracy, as even seemingly small mistakes can have huge consequences on the field: if a defender misjudges the timing slightly, the other team has a clear path to the goal. 

“I love being competitive on the soccer field,” Rahul said. “I have to use my feet and positioning skills to win the ball. When I’m on the field and whenever I touch the ball, there’s just a joy to making a good play or a great tackle.” 

Rahul constantly strives for improvement, both on and off the field. During his first year with an outside club, his team lost their first game 1-7. Despite this defeat, Rahul and his teammates were able to reflect on the game and provide support for one another, which led to vast improvement.

In such setbacks, Rahul draws inspiration from Real Madrid. Once, when his favorite team was down by two goals with just a few minutes left in the game, the outcome seemed final. However, defying all expectations, one of the Madrid players ended up tying the game with two consecutive goals in a minute. Inspired by this success, Rahul remains perseverant down to the last seconds of each game, uplifting his teammates as well. 

“A big part of my life is that ‘never give up’ mentality,” Rahul said. “Despite all the setbacks, if you really push yourself to the fullest, good things will happen to you. This year on the Harker soccer team, two of our six games ended with one of our goals in the last minute causing a tie. Our team really embodies that ‘never give up’ spirit. Our mentality is that you play until the final whistle.”

As captain of the varsity soccer team, Rahul not only leads by example but also provides encouragement to other players with his unyielding determination. Fellow teammate and close friend Vikram Mani (12) saw him take responsibility and initiative to bring the team together.

“If he sees an imbalance in our team chemistry, he will speak up and say something about it,” Vikram said. “It’s a really important quality to have.”

Rahul brings his fearless mindset to his other pursuits as well. Close friend Ethan Joseph (12), who has known Rahul since sixth grade, admires his drive and dedication in each of his interests, as well as his commitment to his values. 

“I’d say number one is probably his dedication to everything that he does,” Ethan said. “He always puts in complete effort no matter what he’s doing, from sports to extracurriculars to other outside activities. In everything that he does, he is very responsible and ethical. He always does the right thing, even when it’s difficult to do.”

In addition to his dedicated nature, Rahul has possesses a fun and spontaneous side, which close friend Vishnu Veeravali (12) appreciates. During Rahul’s free time, he enjoys unwinding with movies, frequently asking friends to share their input and offer suggestions. One of his pet projects is a database for video rankings, which he constantly experiments with.

“He’s probably watched about 50 percent of the movies that exist in the world,” Vishnu said. “He has this massive spreadsheet where his friends have to input a score for every single video that they watch. He compiles the data and calculates all these different things like standard deviation.”

Whether it be movies or soccer, Rahul finds joy in sharing what he loves with other Harker students. During soccer season, he enjoyed gradually getting his friends hooked on the World Cup. He cherishes such moments when he and his peers can enjoy the ups and downs of soccer together. 

“This year especially, I feel like everybody at Harker was following the World Cup a lot more closely than in 2018,” Rahul said. “I especially remember that one game which was the U.S. versus Iran. There were 200-plus people watching, and when the US scored, everyone just went crazy. That’s something I would have never imagined, especially going back 10 years ago, when my dad was the only person I knew who watched soccer.”

Regardless of the situation, Rahul puts his full effort into his endeavors, finding value in hard work no matter the final result. Looking back on his high school years, he advises all to never give up, despite how slim the chances of success might seem.

“Keep going even if it looks grim — just continue putting in your best effort,” Rahul said. “Focus on one thing that you really want, and then do everything in your power to accomplish that goal. And you know what will happen? You will get a good result.”