Pedro Vasconcelos - Making His Family Proud
Brittany Eads
(310) 804-7245
britteads@gmail.com
Pedro Vasconcelos
Provo, Utah (May 9, 2009) — For Pedro Vasconcelos, the hardest part about making the men’s soccer team didn’t have anything to do with skill or experience, but the fact that he would be crossing over 6,000 miles and a language barrier to do so.
Vasconcelos is a native of São Paulo, Brazil, and currently lives as an exchange student with fellow freshman and teammate Matt Rider. Growing up, Vasconcelos knew that his future and soccer career lay in the United States, but getting to BYU proved a somewhat rocky path.
“My whole life I knew I wanted to play here,” he begins, “and that I had to play club and do well if the opportunities to play in college would happen for me. My dad was unsure about BYU at first, but when I told him more about the team he agreed to let me come.”
Being in a whole new country to play his sport isn’t easy for Vasconcelos. However, being able to attend school in the United States and have the opportunity to live out his dream while learning English and gaining an education was an opportunity too good to pass up.
“It’s very hard to be so far from my friends and family and everyone I’ve been around my whole life,” Vasconcelos explains. “But when I was young I realized I wanted to take soccer seriously and pursue a future of going professional and this is a great opportunity for that.”
Vasconcelos, who was also recruited by Penn State, traces his soccer career back to a very young age, spending many years playing for a club team coached by Brazilian soccer legend Roberto Rivelino, one of the greatest midfielders of all time and after whom the Rivelino evasive move is named.
Because fútbol is immensely popular in his home country, the Brazil native points to a strong family influence as the primary reason he took up the sport and devoted countless hours to developing his skills.
“All of my family played soccer,” Vasconcelos notes. “My dad would take me to stadiums and we’d watch it on TV. Because of that, I began to like to play more than anything else.”
While Vasconcelos spends much of his time training for and playing soccer, he also makes a concerted effort to pass on his passion for the sport to the next generation.
“I love to watch younger players,” Vasconcelos concludes. “I coach kids’ teams sometimes and I love to take my little cousin to practice with me when I can.”
