Jong Paek with the Kamiak High School varsity soccer team
Jong Paek with the Washington Premiers FCJong Paek with the Northwest Nationals FC
Many students play sports for the sake of adding extracurricular activities on their resume, but some students play sports because of the passion they have for the game. Jong Paek, a sophomore at Todd Beamer High School, is one of those students.
Paek immigrated to America in 2008 due to his parents’ relocation for jobs in the Seattle area. “I didn’t want to move since I had all my friends in Korea, but I guess I had to,” Paek said. He first attended Harbour Pointe Middle School in Mukilteo, Wash. and played for Evergreen Football Club (denoted as FC), a premier select soccer team in Evergreen, Wash.
“I didn’t have to try out because the coach was very impressed with my ball-handling skill,” Paek said. With Evergreen FC, Jong became an outstanding center midfielder, controlling the tides and turns of the game.
Shortly after his eighth grade graduation, Paek joined Northwest Nationals FC, the third best soccer team in the state. He played with the Nationals as one of the starters and averaged one goal every two games. After a year with the Nationals, Paek’s family relocated to Federal Way, Wash., and Paek joined a new team, Washington Premier FC. “It was nerve-wracking, since the Premiers are the second best in the state,” Paek said. Contrary to his worry, Paek dazzled on the soccer field, crossing over defenders and soaring over goalkeepers. Heading off to the second season with the Washington Premiers, Paek hopes to win the state championship as well as earn the position of team captain.
Aside from club soccer, Paek participates in school soccer too, as the starting center midfielder for Todd Beamer High School’s varsity soccer team. Before he moved to Todd Beamer High School, Paek was the only freshman starter for Kamiak High School’s soccer team. “I was surprised and overwhelmed at the same time. Playing with juniors and seniors definitely boosted my soccer skills!” exclaimed Paek.
If that is not enough, Paek is also involved in Seattle Korean Soccer Association, a highly- demanding soccer association where only college students and adults play. However, due to his remarkable soccer techniques and unrelenting defense, Paek was selected as one of the players for WA-11, a soccer team known for its talented players. Paek meets with them every Sunday to practice and get ready for the Seattle Korean Soccer Association tournament in May.
Paek also maintains a respectable grade for his classes, with a 3.5 cumulative GPA. After high school, he hopes to attend the University of California, Berkeley and play for its soccer team.
Andrew Kim
I am currently a senior at Kamiak High School, located in Mukilteo, Washington. I love jazz, especially jazz piano. I also like writing, and hope to participate in newspaper club when I attend college. Thank you for reading this blurb about me.
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A very well-written article that was very entertaining. The paragraphs were a bit too chunky and could have been broken up a bit more. There could have been a bit on Paek’s interests outside of soccer to give a fuller view of him as an average teenager. Overall, a strong feature and I love the action-packed pictures.