GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
PROGRESO — Progreso senior captain Rogelio Zamora only gets to see his mother once or twice per year. She still lives in Soto la Marina, Tamaulipas — about a three-hour drive south from Brownsville.
Zamora called that area home before relocating to the United States four years ago in search of a better opportunity.
“When she talks to me on the phone, she’s always sad and missing me,” Zamora said. “But she sent me here for a reason.”
When it came time for Zamora to begin high school, his parents wanted him to do so in America. So Zamora’s father brought his son’s immense talent to Progreso, where he quickly became one of the Red Ants’ leading scorers. Now, Zamora is a senior captain on a team that begins play in the UIL Class 4A state tournament against Argyle at 6:30 tonight in Georgetown.
“It’s been kind of hard,” Zamora said. “I miss my family over there in Mexico. But I’ve learned these four years I’ve been here that it’s not too bad. There’s a lot of opportunity here, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Zamora first moved to the United States in third grade, quickly distancing himself from soccer. He said the sport was in his blood, but at the time he had no issue putting it on the back burner.
“I started getting more into basketball and football, too,” Zamora said. “I forgot everything about soccer.”
Moving back to Soto la Marina for grades five through eight, Zamora rediscovered his passion and skills for the game. Now, Progreso coach Margarito Jimenez says Zamora’s biggest developments as a player have been his knowledge and maturity.
Zamora joined the varsity team about halfway through his freshman year and has been a fixture ever since.
“He has shown a lot of character,” Jimenez said. “I see it, because when he gets the group together, they listen to him. He’s shown a lot of those leadership skills that we need in a team. Most of the time, we don’t have to tell him what to do.”
Zamora admits he wasn’t always strong in that area. He said the Red Ants had difficulty communicating at the start of the season, but he took it upon himself to facilitate better relationships.
“Now I yell at them, but not for bad things,” Zamora said. “I tell them what to do, what not to do, and they say, ‘OK.’ They take it as a good way. They listen.”
Between the lines, Zamora has been one of the team’s leading scorers for the past three years. This season, he’s found the back of the net a team-best 15 times since the start of district play, exploiting the opposition with dazzling dribble moves and an ability to shoot from all angles.
“He can do basically anything with that ball,” Jimenez said. “He’s a dangerous forward.”
Even so, Jimenez has tinkered with using Zamora at midfielder during the playoffs, recognizing the Red Ants’ depth of talent at forward.
Zamora said he’s found a home in the mid since the third-round game against Rockport-Fulton. Although the position requires more running, passing and controlling the game, Zamora said it’s been an easy transition.
“It’s not tough. I actually like it,” Zamora said. “I have more activity on the field. That’s what I’m pretty good at right now.”
Zamora hopes to put all of those skills on display today, with college coaches and scouts sure to be in attendance. Although nearing the end of his senior year, he remains unsure about his plans for his future.
“I would like to play soccer in college. That’s my first goal,” Zamora said. “Going to state is going to be a really good ticket for us.”