When it comes to soccer, telling the story of Southeast Whitfield defender Noel Pimentel is very easy because he is so good. If you saw any Raider soccer game this year, you know how good he is. If you talk to any of the area’s coaches, you know how respected he is. If you talk to Pimentel face-to-face, you see what a fine young man he is with his manners, with his intelligence and with his work ethic. Telling his story based on soccer is easy.

It’s the rest of his life that has been pretty hard.

Hard work isn’t just a matter of going through soccer drills or even studying as much as he can for the next exam that his teachers are giving for Pimentel.

It isn’t just going one-on-one with some of the best high school forwards in the state from his defender position. It isn’t just becoming so talented with a soccer ball that he can score on a throw-in from near midfield. It isn’t just all of the hours of practice that he has put in through the years in order to earn a scholarship to Lee University in Tennessee with an eye toward becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college.

No, for Noel Pimentel, hard work just means living.

With a struggling economy, a father who has been disabled but hasn’t been able to collect on disability, three younger siblings and bills that have to be paid, hard work is an every day mantra for The Daily Citizen 2011 Soccer Player of the Year.

While many recent high school graduates are enjoying the summer relaxing by the pool or on a beach as they get ready to enter college, Pimentel is working double shifts serving up “two piece and a biscuit” at KFC. While most future collegiate athletes are sticking to their training regimen sent by their school to prepare for the next level, “Nopi” — as his friends call him — is more worried about helping his mother pay the bills. While others would be especially excited to head off to college and starting something new, he is more worried about where he can get a job up in Cleveland, Tenn.

“I have been trying to keep in shape, but all I have been doing this summer is working,” Pimentel said during a late-night interview after he got off of work earlier this week. “I have been having to deal with helping my mom pay the bills. It is hard. I am not going to lie. It is not easy. You have to worry about school work and bills and college and then worry about things in the house then work and then playing soccer. Sometimes, I would just take it all out there and leave it on the field because I enjoy playing so much.”

Some athletes take playing sports for granted. Not Pimentel.

“Nopi has overcome some adversity that has made him what he is,” Southeast soccer coach Jamison Griffin said. “He doesn’t have time to have flaws. He is always working hard, taking care of his responsibilities. As a coach you are teaching them to be men a lot of times. He just has talent that is fun to watch. He is just a model of a soccer player that I would want others to model after. He has obvious skill, but he is very understated and very modest in his approach. He never leaves the field without leaving it all out there in every game. He is what I would like to see our other guys aspire to.”

As talented as pretty much any player in the state, Pimentel is also humble. When told that all of the area’s coaches had been unanimous in their praise for his ability as the player of the year, he was gracious.

“It doesn’t make me feel any different, because  I am just like any other kid or player out there,” he said. “I am not any different from most of the players at Dalton or Northwest. We all work hard and try our best.”

This is the third year in a row that a defender has been named the player of the year following Dalton’s Adrian Hernandez last season and Murray County goalie Rolando Ambriz in 2009.

“I like it as a soccer coach because a lot of times you don’t see defenders get that kind of notoriety,” Griffin said. “He just models what a student-athlete is supposed to be. He just works so hard in everything that he does. What you see on the field is a kid that can win every ball in the air. I know that he is going to be in position and I have never seen anyone get over the top of him. He has God-given talent.”

Along with a cast of players that have been playing together or many season, Pimentel led his team to the Class 3A state semifinals before falling to eventual state champion St. Pius X, which was recently named the top high school team in the nation by one soccer publication.

“We have known each other since middle school and elementary school days,” Pimentel said of his teammates. “We used to play in soccer leagues growing up, and we know what each other can do and it just makes it easier. We are all close friends and that communication outside of soccer and outside of school made it a whole lot easier for us on the soccer field.”

In addition to advancing furthest among area teams in the state playoffs, the Raiders also lead this year’s first team with five selections with Sammy Torres, Omar Hernandez, Alex Rosillio and Mickey Guerrero joining Pimentel on the team. Other members of the first team are Dalton’s Jose Garcia, Ramiro Huitanda, Rene Real and Antonio Olvera and Northwest’s tandem of Geovanni Villa and Mario Perez. The team was selected by The Daily Citizen sports staff with nominations from the area’s coaches.

Along with Guerrero, Pimentel formed perhaps the best defensive tandem in the state. A transfer from Dalton after his sophomore year, Guerrero and Pimentel found an instant chemistry that was easy to see on the field.

“It came from us working hard and practicing every day,” he said. “As soon as he came over to Southeast, we clicked. We haven’t played together as long, but it just came together very fast. We learned how each other played and that is how it worked out so well for us.”

Even with all of the work this summer, he has still found time to play with two teams in local leagues. He is also trying to spend as much time as he can with his family — mother Araceli, father Alfredo, brothers Luis (13) and Julian (10) and sister Camila (7). He knows soon he will be leaving to go to college, and even though he knows he should be concentrating on soccer, life gets in the way.  

 “I have been looking forward to it, but the only problem has been trying to find a job up there,” he said. “It is not that close to my house and I would rather stay up there and work and be able to send money back to my family. That is my biggest worry.”

For Pimentel, soccer is easy. Life sometimes isn’t.

Here’s a glance at the rest of the team, as well as a list of honorable mention selections.

• Jose Garcia, Dalton: It’s tough enough to step into a starting role as a senior in one of the most key positions on the field. It was even tougher for Garcia when he stepped into the sweeper spot to fill the shoes of 2010 All-Area Player of the Year Adrian Hernandez.

“It was a spot where we had a guy who was there for four years in a row and was one of the best players this area has ever produced,” Dalton coach Matt Cheaves said. “Jose stepped forward and did a great job back there. It takes a lot of poise and leadership to play at the sweeper, and he gave us both back there.”

Garcia was also a standout for the Catamounts on the football field as the team’s placekicker.

This is Garcia’s first appearance in the all-area lineup.

• Mickey Guererro, Southeast: Already recognized as one of the area’s best football players with his selection to the All-Area team last fall, Guererro added to his honors with another outstanding senior campaign for the Raiders.

Big, aggressive, solid and talented, Guererro took his skill to the other end of the pitch by moving from striker to a more defensive position after his junior season to form Griffin’s “Big Three” defensive line with Pimentel and Osciel Fabela.

“Putting him on the defensive side of the ball and giving him the reins in front of a freshman keeper, it had to be his team,” Griffin said of the Treutt-McConnell signee. “He had to be the quarterback telling people where to go. His ability to communicate is outstanding. He is just a big physical guy that everyone listens to. He is kind of the glue that hept everything together.”

This is Guererro’s second appearance straight appearance on the all-area team and his fourth all-area honor in the last two years after two selections to the football team.

• Ramiro Huitanda, Dalton: While there is plenty of talent leaving area schools with graduation this past spring, Huitanda is sure to be one of the bright spots in the coming years.

Just a sophomore, Huitanda was the team’s leading scorer and led the area as well with 22 goals on the season. His season was a pleasant surprise to Cheaves since he had lost all of his scoring from the previous year. Huitanda filled the void nicely.

“He just has a lot of natural talent and really worked hard all throughout the year to keep getting better,” Cheaves said. “I am really looking forward to seeing how he progresses and what his potential can be. He has a lot of tools to keep getting better and better.”

That would be bad news for the rest of the area after the Cats were able to make such a deep push in the playoffs with such an inexperienced team, especially with Huitanda’s foot delivering the message.

This is Huitanda’s first appearance on the team.

• Omar Hernandez, Southeast: A transfer this season into the Raider lineup, it didn’t take long for the Treutt-McConnell signee to have a big impact.

“He transferred in and the team as a whole really took to him and looked to him to be a leader,” Griffin said. “He is our vocal leader, and he just steps right into things. He really has some jazz and finesse and is just fun to watch. He does it effortlessly and has the ability to score from just about anywhere. In my opinion, when he gets in a league where refs are at the next level, he will be a stellar player that will really explode. He could really be at the next level past college. He has the drive and the desire to go to the next level.”

Hernandez had 52 defensive stops, five goals and 13 assists.

This is the first appearance in the all-area lineup.

• Antonio Olvera, Dalton: Coming into the 2011 soccer season, Cheaves could guarantee two things — his team would be inexperienced and he didn’t have to worry about his goalkeeper. With Olvera locked between the pipes as the last line of defense, the Cats went 15-3-2 as they finished second in Region 7-3A and advanced to the Class 3A state quarterfinals. Olvera allowed an average of just one goal per game, recording 12 shutouts.

While his play brought plenty in Dalton’s run to the playoffs, Cheaves said it was his leadership that helped the team the most. One of only two starters returning from 2010, Olvera had to fill that leadership void.

“He gave a lot of confidence to the defense knowing that he was behind them,” Cheaves said of the senior who is going to play collegiately at Atlanta Christian. “He’s been a great asset to our program and a strong leader. His leadership and work ethic brought a lot to the team.”

This is the second year on the team for Olvera after being named as an honorable mention pick as a junior.

• Mario Perez, Northwest: It wasn’t easy standing out above the crowd in Region 7-4A with a team (Chattahoochee) that won the state title and another (Lambert) that spent much of the season on top of the polls. But somehow Perez was able to do that.

“We played in a really tough region, but all of the region’s coaches had his name on their lips when we picked the all-region team,” coach Ryan Scoggins said.

The junior midfielder had nine goals and 10 assists in a position where Scoggins wasn’t counting on a ton of offensive impact with high-scoring Geovanni Villa up front.

“Mario has those intangibles that make him so much better. Mario is so well-rounded and has a great eye to set up goals, and not just for himself,” Scoggins said. “As a junior, he controlled the middle of the field and opened up so many things for his teammates. From me as a head coach, he is going to be the leader of this team, and I think he will embrace that as a senior. He is our guy that will make things go next season.”

This is the second year in a row that Perez has been named to the team.

• Rene Real, Dalton: In addition to Olvera, Real was the other returning starter for Dalton and he didn’t disappoint whether he was playing all the way back in front of his goalie or in the midfield.

“His experience was very important to us,” Cheaves said. “We kind of had to move him around a little bit this year, but he was really dominant for lots of games on the defensive end of the field and on the attack.”

A three-year starter for the Cats, Real led the team with 10 assists and was also the team leader in defensive stops. As are a number of players from the area, Real has signed to play with Atlanta Christian.

This is Real’s first appearance in the all-area lineup.

• Alex Rosillio, Southeast: One of the most important offensive players for the Raiders last year as a freshman, Rosillio didn’t seem to suffer much of a sophomore slump. Combining to make a very potent 1-2 punch with Zeke Nunez, Rosillio finished with 16 goals and five assists in his second season as a starter.

“I told him at the beginning of the season that sophomore years are tough because he had such a great freshman year,” Griffin said. “There was so much pressure, not from the team or from me, but from others’ expectations. He was a project to just make sure that he fought through the sophomore jinx.”

Griffin said it was his ability to open the field up for scoring opportunities for others that showed his growth in his sophomore campaign.

“He did more outside of scoring and drew the defenses and gave more opportunities to others,” Griffin said.

This is Rosillio’s second year on the team after being chosen as an honorable mention selectee last year.

• Sammy Torres, Southeast: While there are others on the team that have better scoring numbers and those that have better defensive statistics, it would be hard to find a more complete player than Torres. The midfielder had 43 defensive stops, 10 goals and nine assists. Whether in the attack or on the defense, Torres was there to get the job done for the Raiders.

“His ability for touches on the ball and his ability to keep the ball close to his feet and keep his vision is just outstanding,” Griffin said. “Sammy really increased his shots on goal and his scoring percentage went up.”

Even on his own team, it was easy for Torres to become overlooked with the abundance of talent on the Raiders’ squad. But while he wasn’t outspoken or drawing attention to himself, his play spoke for itself.

“He is just one of those kids that looks you in the eye and gives you a handshake,” Griffin said. “He isn’t a vocal leaders, but he just does it.”

This is Torres’ second year on the team after being selected to the honorable mention team as a junior.

• Giovanni Villa, Northwest: Villa’s name will be associated with Northwest soccer for many years to come as one of the most consistent producers the county has ever produced.

“I feel very blessed to have had such a talented player,” Scoggins said. “There is no way that we will be able to replace him. He probably set every offensive statistical record at the school.”

The second-leading scorer in the area, Villa finished with 19 goals and 10 assists, finishing his four year’s of starting for the Bruins with a  school-record 65 goals for his team. In addition to being named to the all-area team for the third season, he was also a first-team All-Region 7-4A selection as well.

“I think for him, his inner drive is so strong,” Scoggins said. “He worked so hard in practice, and I am sure there were probably just a handful of days over the last four years where his foot wasn’t touching a ball. He was always playing whenever he could in a variety of leagues around the area. His drive just set him apart. That is what you can’t replace about him.”

• HONORABLE MENTION: Christian Heritage — Brady Seehorn (Christian Heritage); Murray County — Colby Cummings, Luis Jimenez, Miguel Zuniga; North Murray — Ismael Cruz, Manuel Gonzalez, Antonio Maldonaldo, Edgar Mendez; Northwest — Miguel Deanda, Luis Fraire, Cielo Nunez; Southeast — Zeke Nunez, Christian Lopez, Abel Mendiola, Osciel Fabela, Bernabe Rangel.