TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) - Godby junior Jose Rodriguez has the accuracy every soccer coach dreams about.
"70% of the shots he takes are on goal, and 33% of the shots he takes are goals," stated Michael Kaney, who has been an assistant at Godby the last couple of seasons.
Rodriguez has scored in 16 of the Cougar's 20 games, 42 total goals, with seven hat tricks.
"I believe my play has been getting better by preparing myself and training everyday," said Rodriguez.
"It's just amazing watching him put up these astronomical numbers," added Kaney. "He currently leads the nation in goals for states playing winter soccer."
Rodriguez is on top of the charts, and as remarkable as his season is going, what may be even more special is his story. Rodriguez arrived in the United States when he was 15 as a refugee from El Salvador, Jose knew no English, now, he makes nearly straight A's while dominating on the pitch.
"I always tell myself I can achieve whatever I want with hard work and preparation," he said. "This off season I really felt like I could achieve this goal, so I worked after school."
"We knew it was only a matter of time before he really blossomed," added Kaney. "This off season he just worked tremendously, on his own time. With the coaches, but on his own time. Every time he gets the ball, we're expecting him to score honestly."
His work ethic, plus the Cougar's chemistry, has taken this soccer program to new heights. A District title? The goal, and behind the golden foot of Rodriguez, there's no limit for this Cougar squad.
"They don't think we're going to be winning games, and now we're doing it, and we're going great," smiled Rodriguez.
"Last year we set a record for team wins in a year and our deepest playoff run to date," said Kaney. "This year we're looking to eclipse all those records. It feels good, because Godby was not known for soccer quite as much in the last few years. It's nice to see them making that turn."
Godby closes out the regular season this week with matches against St. John Paul II and Chiles. The District Tournament begins next week at Marianna.
