Vedi Hadade, a senior at Glendale High School, is a captain on our boy’s varsity soccer team. He was born in Tehran, Iran in 2005, and he has been playing soccer for our school team since his freshman year. In his free time, Vedi loves to play soccer, either at practice or with his friends. He also enjoys hanging out with his friends and working out.

This past season was another great one for our boys varsity soccer team, as they finished in second place in the Pacific League. They then competed in the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, where they made it to the quarter-final round.

How do you support your teammates during tough games or losing streaks?

It’s important to make sure [that] the team knows what they’re playing for. With all of us hating the feeling of losing, that motivates us to strive and play hard until the last moment in tough games. 

What strategies do you use to motivate your teammates before important matches?

I try to remind them [of] the importance of the match and what it can do for us. And most importantly, I tell them to fight for each other. 

As a senior captain, how do you balance your responsibilities on the field with leadership off the field? 

On the field, it’s important to have your teammates’ back and support them when they make mistakes off the field. I try to act as close to what is asked of us. For example, [I] come to practice on time and put in the work at practice. 

Can you share some tips for effective communication and coordination among team members during gameplay? 

We try to assist each other at every second of the game, by giving each other call-outs that they can’t see themselves, such as “man on”, and “open players” they can pass the ball to. This makes all the difference in the game, and I gotta admit we don’t do a great job at this in some games. 

What lessons have you learned from your experience as a varsity soccer player that you believe will benefit you in the future?

Being [on] the team [has] taught me that it’s important to trust one another and to believe in each other’s abilities exploit each other’s strengths and cover each other’s weaknesses. I believe this will help me a lot in my life, and it’s something I will always lean back on.

If you are interested in joining the GHS boys soccer team, please contact Coach Brandon Weisman at [email protected].

Keep kicking it, Nitros!