Being a college athlete had been in the back of Zavier Leon’s mind ever since he arrived as a freshman in the Shelbyville boys soccer program.
“Obviously it’s every kid’s dream when they play high school sports to be an athlete in college,” said Leon. “It kind of came around my junior year that I needed to ramp something up to become a college athlete.”
Now, just over a month away from graduation, Leon never would have dreamed he would have the opportunity to play college soccer with his best friend and Golden Bears soccer teammate Al Hernandez.
On Wednesday, Leon made his commitment official to join the inaugural men’s soccer program at Indiana University Purdue University Columbus.
“To be one of the first people to step on the field and make a name for the team and control your own destiny,” said Leon when asked why he chose IUPUC. “This is what I wanted. I want to make sure we build a good stepping stone for the next couple of years and hopefully this becomes a powerful school. I am glad to be one of the first kids to say I played for this school.”
Leon will join fellow Golden Bears Al Hernandez and Christian Haas as inaugural members of the Crimson Pride program, led by head coach Tyler Joy-Brandon.
“He is very set on how to make this program as successful as possible,” said Leon of the IUPUC coach. “I like that mentality. I want to be the best. I want to be the person that kids look up to.”
Leon was a versatile member of the Shelbyville soccer program. He accepted a new defensive role in 2022 that will likely carry into his first season at IUPUC.
“He took on a huge leadership role in the back,” said Shelbyville boys soccer coach Ben Purvis. “He is not afraid to challenge his coaches if he sees something on the field that he thinks needs to be adjusted and that is good for us because we are not always there, especially not being teachers in the school system.”
Leon believes he is up to the challenge of continuing his defensive role at the next level.
“My main role we are looking at now is defense – center back or outside back,” he said. “It’s a brand new position to me. I only started there last year so it’s something I will have to learn at.”
IUPUC, located in Columbus, Indiana, is completing its first year with an athletic program. Men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball will be added this fall. The athletic department recently received word it will become a full member of the NAIA River States Conference which means it is eligible for postseason competition starting with the 2023-2024 school year.
“The fact that we are able to take everything that he has worked toward over the past few years and turn that into an opportunity to play at the next level and get to play with some of his teammates is, I think, a cool experience these guys are going to have.”
Leon, the son of Hector Leon and Amy Parker (photo), will major in Business and Accounting at IUPUC.
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