Men's Soccer Summer Spotlight - Jamie DiLuzio
7/27/2017 12:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
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Davidson student-athletes do a lot of amazing things over the summer. They travel, they learn, they work, they volunteer, they compete and much more with a focus on striving.
This series features a few men's soccer players, with this week being incoming freshman Jamie DiLuzio from North Woodmere, N.Y.
How has your summer been going?
Overall my summer has been a great experience. It began with finishing up my academy season, to training with a local U23 team and then leaving June 26th for Israel. I was 1 of 20 players selected to represent Team USA to play in Israel for the World Maccabiah Games.
Tell us more about the experience in Israel.
The "Jewish Olympics" had over 10,000 athletes from over 80 different countries attending the event. Once we arrived, the touring of Israel for a week began and I learned many new things about my Jewish culture. It was a special moment to float in the Dead Sea and to see how many other Jews are out there in the world. Everyone at the event could proudly proclaim they were Jewish without hate and that is not something that can happen every day.
How was your team?
The team was selected out of over 120 Jewish players who had attended tryouts nationwide. As a team, we went through a week of training camp before the competition and at the end I was selected to be captain. It was an honor to know all my teammates trusted in me and the coaches as well after only seeing me play for a week.
I am glad to say I played with Ben Lederman, the only American to ever play for Barcelona. Currently with "La Masia" it was a pleasure to captain and play alongside a player of his quality throughout the competition.
How were the games?
With a fast start winning 4-0 vs. Canada and scoring the opening goal of the tournament, things were looking bright. The next three games we tied Brazil 1-1, beat Australia 2-0, and tied Mexico 0-0 despite going down a man. Only needing a draw in the final game against Argentina, a heartbreaking loss was suffered. With 20 minutes left, Argentina scored a free kick and we bowed out of the competition. As a team, everyone could not believe we were eliminated. It was very disappointing but it was a good lesson to many players on the team who had not experienced failure in the past, especially on a stage of this kind.
How did you play?
Personally, I started every game and played nearly every minute while finishing joint top scorer (with Lederman). Throughout the tournament, various scouts from Israeli teams attended the games. I received large amounts of interest and was offered an opportunity to train with multiple clubs. I decided to train with the Maccabi Tel Aviv U19 Academy. I changed my flight and stayed in Israel for an extra week for this experience. Training with this top academy in Israel definitely helped prepare me for the upcoming season at Davidson.
What are your thoughts now heading to Davidson?
Over the summer, everything I have done has been in preparation for Davidson and I feel more ready than ever to take this next step. I have trained for every fitness test and made sure that I am able to play a full 90 minutes without fatigue. Throughout the summer, I have been in contact with multiple players on the team and the incoming freshmen that have made me feel comfortable and excited for the upcoming year.
Preseason is going to be a great opportunity to express myself as a person and a player and I cannot wait to work with Coach Spear and Dalby to improve upon my game. Also, the excitement of attending my first class at Davidson and learning in such a great community has me ecstatic to begin my college experience. This summer shaped my life in a positive direction and has perfectly prepared me for my upcoming semester at Davidson. I cannot wait!
Davidson student-athletes do a lot of amazing things over the summer. They travel, they learn, they work, they volunteer, they compete and much more with a focus on striving.
This series features a few men's soccer players, with this week being incoming freshman Jamie DiLuzio from North Woodmere, N.Y.
How has your summer been going?
Overall my summer has been a great experience. It began with finishing up my academy season, to training with a local U23 team and then leaving June 26th for Israel. I was 1 of 20 players selected to represent Team USA to play in Israel for the World Maccabiah Games.
Tell us more about the experience in Israel.
The "Jewish Olympics" had over 10,000 athletes from over 80 different countries attending the event. Once we arrived, the touring of Israel for a week began and I learned many new things about my Jewish culture. It was a special moment to float in the Dead Sea and to see how many other Jews are out there in the world. Everyone at the event could proudly proclaim they were Jewish without hate and that is not something that can happen every day.
How was your team?
The team was selected out of over 120 Jewish players who had attended tryouts nationwide. As a team, we went through a week of training camp before the competition and at the end I was selected to be captain. It was an honor to know all my teammates trusted in me and the coaches as well after only seeing me play for a week.
I am glad to say I played with Ben Lederman, the only American to ever play for Barcelona. Currently with "La Masia" it was a pleasure to captain and play alongside a player of his quality throughout the competition.
How were the games?With a fast start winning 4-0 vs. Canada and scoring the opening goal of the tournament, things were looking bright. The next three games we tied Brazil 1-1, beat Australia 2-0, and tied Mexico 0-0 despite going down a man. Only needing a draw in the final game against Argentina, a heartbreaking loss was suffered. With 20 minutes left, Argentina scored a free kick and we bowed out of the competition. As a team, everyone could not believe we were eliminated. It was very disappointing but it was a good lesson to many players on the team who had not experienced failure in the past, especially on a stage of this kind.
How did you play?
Personally, I started every game and played nearly every minute while finishing joint top scorer (with Lederman). Throughout the tournament, various scouts from Israeli teams attended the games. I received large amounts of interest and was offered an opportunity to train with multiple clubs. I decided to train with the Maccabi Tel Aviv U19 Academy. I changed my flight and stayed in Israel for an extra week for this experience. Training with this top academy in Israel definitely helped prepare me for the upcoming season at Davidson.
What are your thoughts now heading to Davidson?
Over the summer, everything I have done has been in preparation for Davidson and I feel more ready than ever to take this next step. I have trained for every fitness test and made sure that I am able to play a full 90 minutes without fatigue. Throughout the summer, I have been in contact with multiple players on the team and the incoming freshmen that have made me feel comfortable and excited for the upcoming year.
Preseason is going to be a great opportunity to express myself as a person and a player and I cannot wait to work with Coach Spear and Dalby to improve upon my game. Also, the excitement of attending my first class at Davidson and learning in such a great community has me ecstatic to begin my college experience. This summer shaped my life in a positive direction and has perfectly prepared me for my upcoming semester at Davidson. I cannot wait!
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