‘This is a big chance’: Merced soccer star headed across nation to begin college career
Giovanni Ceja’s life is about to change.
In a few weeks, Ceja will be traveling over 2,700 miles from Merced to Raleigh, N.C. where he’ll begin his collegiate soccer career at North Carolina State University.
“I’m excited,” said the recent El Capitan High School graduate. “This is a big chance for me to move across the country. I’m moving to a new place where I get enjoy the college experience. We’ll see how it goes.”
Traveling is nothing new to Ceja.
He’s spent the past five years making the trip from Merced to Sacramento to train with the Sacramento Republic Academy four to five times a week.
Ceja was playing with a local traveling soccer team when he was noticed by Sacramento Republic coaches. He went to train in Sacramento and he was offered a spot in the academy.
“The first day they offered me a spot,” Ceja said. “It was a big commitment. It was worth it. I gained a lot of experience.”
The decision meant Ceja couldn’t play high school soccer.
Instead, he drove two hours to Sacramento and two hours back to train with the Sacramento Republic. He had games on weekends.
To make things easier on his parents, he often car pooled with players from Los Banos and Modesto.
“Those car rides were bad,” he said. “I spent a lot of time in the car. A lot of time I did my homework in the car. A lot of times we were tired and we just slept. But it was all worth it in the end.”
Ceja said he would go to school all day. Then he’d leave for Sacramento and practice for a few hours and then make the long drive back to Merced. He would get home at 11 p.m., go to sleep and do the whole thing over again the next day.
The Sacramento Republic Academy started in August and finished in July. He trained 11 months out of the year.
Despite all the trips to Sacramento, Ceja managed to graduate from El Capitan with a 3.4 GPA and he plans to major in business and finance.
Ceja said he also drew interest from other schools like UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Oregon State and Georgetown. Ceja signed his national letter of intent to accept the scholarship offer at North Carolina State in March.
“NC State gave me the best offer,” Ceja said. “I can still go pro later on. Their soccer program will set me up for that or if not I will have a degree to fall back on.”
Ceja says the ultimate goal is to become a special soccer player. He says the toughest part about moving to North Carolina will be moving away from his family.
“Honestly, I’m a big family person,” Ceja said. “I hope I don’t get too homesick. I know I’ll get used to it and I’ll enjoy it. I feel I’m ready for the change. It’s a chance for me to be on my own and mature as a person as well as a soccer player.”
