Resident Tano Capote selected for Florida U14 soccer team

The love, dedication and commitment to play soccer at an early age has paid off for Tano Capote.
The Miami Lakes resident was recently selected to the State of Florida U14 soccer team and he was picked to join the 2018-2019 Florida Youth Soccer Association Olympic Development Program state team.
As a member of the Olympic development team, he will travel this summer to the University of Alabama, where he will live on campus while his team will play against 12 state teams in the region.
Tano said he’s honored and excited to be picked on the team following a series of tryouts and camps.
“I was surprised that I made the team,” he said. “With auditions in October and November in three different cities including Ft. Myers, analyzing us three times and the final tryouts with 100 to 200 kids during a series of two-hour sessions, I was thrilled I made the team. It was a lot of hard work.”
Playing locally for the Miami Stars Soccer Club, his team won the Florida Youth Soccer Association league championship.
Tano doesn’t like to tot his own horn so his father did it for him. “He scored 47 goals this season,” said Tony Capote. “My son is modest so as a proud father, I like to say what he accomplished in soccer because he worked so hard at it. Forty seven goals is remarkable.”
Tano started playing soccer at the Miami Lakes Optimist Club when he was 8-years-old. He said he was inspired to play because how much he loved the game. “I love to express my feelings by playing soccer,” he said. “I love the commitment and dedication it takes to play soccer and I love it so much.”
Tano said his coaches at the Optimist Club, Anna Butzlaff and Jeff Arellana, taught him well. “They were really nice and worked with me one-on-one in practice to help me learn how to play soccer,” he said.
Tano said his current coach, Miguel Gutierrez, also should be commended for showing him the work ethic to become a better soccer player. “He has taught me a lot,” Tano said. “He helped me make the Olympic development team.”
His mother, Rebecca Rovirosa-Capote, said her son brings a lot of passion and dedication to the game. “He really loves it,” she said. “He’s truly dedicated and committed to playing soccer.”
Tony Tano said his son’s trip to the University of Alabama this summer will be an overwhelming experience for a middle school student. “It will be the most eventful experience for him, a 7th grader experiencing a college-like atmosphere,” he said.
Capote is also scoring points in the classroom and community service. A student at Miami Lakes Middle school, Capote maintains a 3.8 GPA and made the Honor Roll on many occasions, and his active in the community.
“He works diligently both at school and at his passion for soccer with the Miami Stars Soccer Club,” Rebecca Rovirosa-Capote said. “He has been awarded many Honor Rolls and taken time during the summer to volunteer at Hope/United Methodist Church camp.”