2021 NewsTribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year: Mendota’s Yahir Diaz

Lionel Messi has always been Yahi Diaz’s favorite soccer player.

“I watch a lot of Messi,” Diaz said. “Watching him makes me want to play like him.”

In an effort to play more like Messi, Diaz has spent countless hours honing his footwork by himself.

“A lot of the stuff we do with the team is drills, so that helps, but mostly I’ve improved [my footwork)] on my own time juggling the ball and dribbling around at home in the backyard,” Diaz said. “Sometimes I’ll go out to the soccer fields at the lake and practice my footwork.”

His crafty moves with his feet helped give the Mendota senior an advantage.

“His biggest skill he has that sets him apart from everybody else is his footwork,” Mendota coach Nick Myers said. “There were numerous games he’d be double or triple teamed in the box and he was still able to find a way to maneuver around those defenders and put the ball in the back of the net.

“He’s able to keep that ball so close to his feet it’s hard for defenders to get it away from him.”

With his footwork, a knack for reading defenses, speed, good strength for his size and a never-give-up attitude, Diaz became the most prolific scorer in MHS soccer history.

Diaz scored a school record 46 goals this season to finish with a school record 113 for his career.

He could do more than score as he also broke school records for single season (20) and career (59) assists.

Diaz led the Trojans to a 23-1 record and the program’s first sectional championship.

For all he accomplished this season, Diaz is the NewsTribune Boys Soccer Player of the year for the second straight season.

“It was a phenomenal year for Yahir, but one I could see coming with the hard work he was putting in,” Myers said. “He works hard every day. He wants to get better. The great thing about him is he wants to be coached.”

In the offseason, Diaz attended all the Trojans’ summer workouts, went to all of Mendota’s weight lifting sessions, sometimes going twice a day, and played club soccer.

“I was trying to get a little bit stronger because I felt I was getting pushed off the ball too easily,” Diaz said. “Going to then weight room really helped.

“I play a lot of travel, so I’m playing year round. I go to every practice. I go to the gym. I never skip training. I know I’m going to get better, and I’m going to get bigger and stronger by doing that.”

While improved strength and physical skills helped Diaz deal with even more attention from defenses after three consecutive 20-plus goal seasons, mentality played a key role as well.

“I know I have to be patient,” Diaz said. “It’s something at first I wasn’t good at. I would get frustrated pretty quickly when I wouldn’t make the right play or I wasn’t scoring. Through the years I got better at that.”

Diaz also dealt with defenses focusing on him by setting up his teammates.

“An unselfish player like that makes him even harder to stop,” Myers said. “If a team does put multiple guys on him, Yahir is not one who is going to ball hog it and try to take it himself. He’s willing to look for his teammates, and they’re open because most teams are going to double or triple team Yahir. Having him be willing and able to pass the ball opens up so many more things for our offense.”

With his knack for scoring and willingness to set up teammates, Diaz came up clutch in big games.

Against Serena in the regional championship with the Trojans trailing, 1-0, in the second half, Diaz scored twice and had three assists as MHS won, 5-1.

Diaz also scored the Trojans’ third goal in their 3-2 win over Quincy Notre Dame in the sectional final.

“He stepped up for us in every big game we had,” Myers said.

While many will remember Diaz for his record-setting number of goals, which he said “makes me really proud of myself, and makes me feel all the hard work paid off,” he hopes people remember him for more than that.

“You can look at all the goals and the assists and the records, but I just wanted to be a good teammate and always be humble as well,” said Diaz, who plans to continue his career in college.