When he was four years old, varsity soccer player and junior Aryan Banjara adopted his father’s interest in soccer and fell in love with the sport, he said. Banjara often travels throughout California for soccer tournaments, but took the opportunity in 2022 to play in the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden, with his club soccer team, the Silicon Valley Eagles, he said. The Gothia Cup is an international youth soccer tournament, according to the Gothia Cup website.
Playing in the Gothia Cup was Banjara’s first international trip, and he is one of the captains of the Silicon Valley Eagles soccer team, he said.
“It was nice being able to play with my teammates and be alongside my coach and everything,” Banjara said. “I loved every second of it. It felt great when I got invited.”
There were about 1,700 teams playing in the Gothia Cup, and the Silicon Valley Eagles ended in roughly the top 600, Banjara said.
“My team was in group A and we got knocked out in the second round,” Banjara said.
Banjara is also a dedicated goalkeeper at MHS who helps the team with training and always motivates his teammates on the sideline, varsity boys soccer coach James Williams said. However, there are two senior goalkeepers who have been getting playing time over Banjara for this year , he added.
“It’s not easy going through what he’s going through right now,” Williams said. “To keep training, to keep his focus, to keep working hard to become a better player—it’s really a testament to his own mental strength and ability to fight through those things.”
Banjara’s coaches have taught him respect, sportsmanship, and leadership, which are all keys to being a captain, he said.
“Especially when my team is down, I have to be able to lift up my teammates and tell them it’s okay and just keep on playing,” Banjara said. “So, (my coaches) really taught me a lot about good character in life and in soccer.”
As a player, Banjara is a great goalkeeper, varsity soccer player and junior Luqman Abas said. As a person, he’s always able to make others laugh, Abas added.
“He’s always willing to sacrifice himself to save the ball,” Abas said.
Playing soccer is Banjara’s passion, and although he hopes to turn it into a career, the chances are extremely slim, he said.
“I plan to play college ball and everything, and hopefully I make it pro—I mean, that’s my number one dream since I’ve been little,” Banjara said. “I definitely do see a future in playing soccer.”
Besides his coaches, Banjara looks up to professional soccer players Lionel Messi and Alisson Becker as his role models, he said.
“I love everything about the game,” Banjara said. “The bonding with my teammates, the tactics, the fans, everything.”
If Banjara continues to grow as a soccer player and work hard in training, he has the potential to become a starter next school year at MHS, Williams said.
“My boys and my coaches, they really taught me a lot about the game and how to treat each other, and I just look forward to continuing to play and having a good time,” Banjara said.