Laredo Sports Medicine Clinic is proud to announce our spotlight athlete for May 2016…Raine Perez! Our featured athlete is a full of relentless determination and unmistakable talent. Her athletic career is already remarkable as she is involved in numerous sports and activities. Raine Perez might only be 8 years old, but her fierce competitiveness drives her to be an inspiring child athlete that is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
From the time she was a toddler, Raine’s parents knew she was someone special. They vividly recall picking up 3-year-old Raine from her learning center and getting home to their little girl eagerly teaching them the sign language she had learned. Her enthusiasm for learning was just beginning…
Raine’s first introduction to sports began at home. As a toddler, she would excitedly watch her dad’s old football and track videos which sparked her interest and curiosity in sports. Always active and full of energy, Raine’s parents decided to encourage her interest in sports as a way of letting her release her energy. Today, Raine is involved in a total of five sports, both in and out of school. She is planning to keep adding to her list of sports she is involved in.
At the age of 4, she began playing soccer with the Chivitas Soccer Team. Since then she has played with the Laredo Heat, Laredo Elite Soccer and is currently with FC Dallas-Laredo Soccer where she plays in U7 and U8 categories. She has won numerous championships and tournaments under the direction of her coach, Linda Fahara. Coach Fahara has been training her since the age of 5.
Aside from soccer, Raine also excels in basketball where she plays on the Malakoff Knights basketball team. Various YouTube videos posted by her parents show her speed and precision when she is in control of the ball. Our featured athlete also plays with the Spurs League.
Another sport that our athlete enjoys playing is volleyball. She plays with the Malakoff Elementary Lady Knights Volleyball Team. During the 2015 season they made it all the way to the championship game, but fell short of the win. Raine plans on helping the team go all the way to championships once again during the next volleyball season.
Flag football is a sport Raine decided to take part in after seeing her father and older brother play football. During the 2015 flag football season, Raine was one of the team captains for the Malakoff Knights, scoring over 15 touchdowns throughout the season. ESPN caught sight of a YouTube video of Raine posted by her father. Intrigued by Raine being the only girl on the flag football team and outrunning all the boys, they asked permission to use the video, dubbing her a “Flag Football Phenom.” Shortly after, Raine was also locally recognized by KGNS Sports.
Little Raine draws inspiration from her family and her favorite football player, Barry Sanders. Coincidentally, Sanders wears the same jersey number that Raine’s father wore as a football player in school, a number she now wears on all her own jerseys, #20.
Despite being extremely active and at times having up to four games scheduled in one day, Raine decided to add on more sports to her plate. This year, she added track to her list. Her most recent track meet took place on April 19, 2016 where Raine placed 1st in the 100-meter dash and 1st in the relay. The Malakoff Elementary Track Team took home the 2nd place overall win.
In an effort to further strengthen her skills as a runner, Raine also participates with Laredo’s traveling track team, BC Elite. Under the direction of Coach Calderon, Raine and the rest of her team tirelessly practice up to five times per week. In her first track meet with BC Elite, she placed 1st in long jump, 3rd in the 200 meter and 6th in the 800 meter. The track meet was held in Houston, where Texas’ most talented gather to compete in the Beast Mode Relays. Her achievements as a track star with BC Elite qualified her for Super Track which will be held on May 2, 2016. After that, she is scheduled to compete in Austin on May 7th.
Later this year, she will be joining the Laredo Junior Tennis Team and hopes to pursue golf and swimming as well.
Raine is as devoted to her studies as she is to sports. A second grader at Malakoff Elementary, she maintains perfect attendance, is an A Honor Roll student, and received recognitions as Student of the Month and Reader of the Month this academic school year. An avid reader, her favorite books include The Goosebumps Series and scary stories. She also enjoys challenging puzzles and games.
Born with a knack for competitiveness, we would like to point out that Raine is currently the only girl in her soccer team, school basketball team, and flag football team, by choice. Both the girls’ soccer and basketball teams at Malakoff have extended offers to join, but Raine politely declines. She feels that playing with boys gives her more of a competitive edge.
Born with her father’s tenacity and mother’s intelligence, Raine is just getting started. Her ultimate goal is to be the best athlete she can be in college and has expressed interest in being a teacher or a police officer. Anything that Raine sets her mind on, she will pursue with indomitable determination.
You can keep up with this little one’s sports accomplishments by following her on Instagram under @Raine_Perez. Her parents have lovingly started this account to document her sports career so that Raine can later look back on everything she has accomplished from such a young age. Her parents have also started including the hashtag #HereComesTheRaine on all her pictures and videos.
LSMC congratulates and is proud to recognize Raine Perez as May’s Spotlight Athlete! We can’t wait to see where Raine’s passion takes her!
