Since he can remember, Natanael Garcia has been consumed by the game. From a child in his native Mexico City to a teenager in the San Fernando Valley and as a father playing for his college team, Garcia's love for the game has never wavered.
But it's his other passion that has inspired Garcia to pursue his dreams, which led him to Sueno MLS.
"I stopped playing for maybe a year before she was born because I wasn't doing things straight," Garcia said about his soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter. "When she was born I got my head straight and started thinking about what I wanted to do. That's when I went back to ... high school. I got my high school diploma and I started training. That's something I wanted to work for. It was a lot of sacrifice but I thought if it paid off one day, it was all going to be worth it."
Garcia will be one of 2,000 to try and land a job as a professional soccer player. After his childhood in Mexico City led him to southern California, Garcia continued following his passion both as a fan and a prospective player. When Sueno MLS kicks off its second year on Friday, Garcia will have an opportunity before him which he feels he is capable of handling.
"I've always felt I had a chance of playing soccer for a living, being a pro. I've always though I had a chance but I've never really had the opportunity to maybe show what I can do and play to someone that could see," he said.
He will be studied under the watchful eyes of Chivas USA staff, the same type of trained eyes that selected Jorge Flores as the winner of last year's inaugural Sueno MLS. Flores has since gone on to land a contract with Chivas USA, play in a regular-season MLS match and play for the U.S. under-20 national team.
Sueno MLS has helped steer Flores' life in a different direction, and Garcia hopes it will have the same effect on him. Thus far, juggling fatherhood, a job and soccer has been a challenge.
"It's kind of hard because when you've got to dedicate to soccer, you have to dedicate your whole time to soccer," said Garcia, a resident of Santa Clarita, Calif. "It's kind of hard sometimes, having a kid and being in their life but this is a good opportunity."
But it was Sarah that may have guided his life towards a safer future three years ago. Shortly after turning 18, Garcia welcomed his daughter into his life.
"It was a big shock but it was something good that helped me settle down to see what I really wanted in life and try to work for something for the future," Garcia said. "It was hard but it was a challenge and I like challenges. It's still a challenge to this day but I try to do the best out of it."
After Sarah's birth, Garcia went back to high school and earned his diploma. He then enrolled in College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita and eventually found his way on the soccer team.
At 5-foot-6 and 145 pounds, Garcia said his preferred spot is forward. Balancing school, work, fatherhood and soccer was a challenge, Garcia said, but he persevered.
"It was a lot of my time because I would work out in the morning, sometimes even at five in the morning we'd have to be at weight training and then I had to go to school full time and then I had to go to practice every day," Garcia said. "All that and my classes took a lot of my time. And then I had to work full time to support my daughter and myself. It was very hard. I got through the whole year."
Now, if his lifelong love of soccer pays off with the help of Sueno MLS, Garcia said he would be forever grateful.
"It would actually mean everything to me. Since I was little, not only did I want to be a professional player, I believed I could be a professional player," Garcia said. "It's really my dream of what I want to do. I've worked a lot of jobs and certainly these minimum-wage jobs and mediocre jobs is not something I want to do for the rest of my life."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
