Most athletes don’t break a school record, let alone two school records, and even less break two school records in the same year.
Senior Zack Robertson is a part of this group of athletes.
During his senior year with the Vikings boys soccer team, Robertson broke the single season assist record and the single season scoring record.
Robertson says breaking records wasn’t a surprise to him, but his goal from day one.
“It felt great. Those were two goals that I set going into the year, and to break them was great. It just it showed that I had a pretty good year,” Robertson said.
Robertson was first introduced to soccer as a kid by his parents and has only fallen in love with the sport more as time has gone on.
“My parents put me into a bunch of sports, and soccer was kind of the one that really stuck with me,” Robertson said.
Throughout the course of his soccer career, Robertson has grown into his physical style of play.
“I think I’ve definitely grown with the game. I’m stronger now, physically and mentally. I’ve kind of taken a leadership role and kind of willed the team to do as good as we could,” Robertson said.
Robertson is one of the captains of the soccer teams, meaning he helps motivate the team to strive for more.
“It basically just means that you’re like a leader to everyone. Everyone’s gonna look up to you. Like if someone has a question, they’ll ask you,” Robertson said. “Basically look up to you as one of the better players on the team and the voice. So just helping out with the coaches, helping out with the players.”
Becoming a captain takes serious leadership, Robertson learned how to lead through his coaches and the captains that came before him.
“I’ve definitely looked up to the coaching staff. There was some upperclassmen before me who were also captains, so I kind of tried to leave that role as well,” Robertson said.
Robertson is committed to play NCAA Division II soccer at Western Washington University this upcoming year. He says that the new competition is what really excites him about college athletics.
“I’m really excited to go play against new teams, because I’ve kind of been playing against the same teams for the last couple of years. New people, new places, I get to do a little bit of traveling, so that’ll be fun,” Robertson said.
Collegiate athletes are some of the top athletes in the nation, Robertson believes it will be a different level of play but is excited nonetheless.
“I’m real nervous about the size, because everyone’s going to size up to me. But besides that, I think everything will go well, it’s just it’s a little scary being a freshman, it’s almost like a restart,” Robertson said.
Reflecting back on his tenure with the Vikings, Robertson says he is grateful for all those that helped him along the way.
“I’ll just think of how many awesome people I got to meet, the teams I got to play against, and all those games we won as a team. All those memories we made as a team, all those friendships and bonds I created,” Robertson said.
Robertson believes while soccer is a physical sport, it is also a mental game and making sure you are confident in your skills can assist your playing.
“Most important lesson was just don’t let anything really get to your head, like everyone’s gonna try and throw you off. Just do as best as you can, and that’s all you can do,” Robertson said.
Robertson says he formed many memories while playing for Puyallup, but this one stood out in particular.
“My favorite moment was probably scoring two goals in the semifinals, helping send us to the state finals for the first time in like three years,” Robertson said.
It is not an easy feat to break two school records in one season, but Robertson beat the odds. He hopes to be remembered for his hard work and his leadership on and off the field.
“I just hope to leave behind a legacy that I that I was a pretty good player, and that people can look up to me. I just want to show that leadership is important and creating bonds is also important,” Robertson said.
