All-Star Athlete: Trevor Peterson

For Trevor Peterson, the pursuit of improving his skills as a soccer goalkeeper never stops. The Liberty senior spends endless hours honing his craft in every imaginable way.From practicing with his high school and club teams, to working out on his own, to waking up at 4:30 a.m. on weekends to watch English Premier League matches, Peterson is constantly striving to get better.The results of all of Peterson’s efforts have paid off in a big way this season.He posted shutouts in six of Liberty’s first 10 games, including a pair of them on the final day of the Garces Holiday Soccer Festival, helping the Patriots win the tournament’s prestigious Elite Division championship.Winning the event was big for Peterson, who still remembers his freshman year when he and Liberty struggled through a difficult 2-16 season.But since then, both Peterson and the Patriots have been on the rise.Last season, Peterson allowed just three postseason goals as Liberty reached the Central Section Division I championship game, falling 1-0 in overtime to Clovis-Buchanan.Peterson’s 2015-16 goals against average stood at a paltry 0.70 at the conclusion of this year’s Garces tournament.“As you get older and you have more and better training, you start to raise that level of skill that you have,” Peterson said. “Whenever I have free time, I watch soccer. I study it. I watch film. I go out and train by myself. I can’t ever break away from soccer.”Standing 6 feet 4 inches with long limbs and weighing 195 pounds, Peterson is unusually quick and agile for someone of his size.It’s a lethal combination that makes it extremely difficult for opposing forwards to get the ball past him and into the back of the net.“I think (my size) creates an advantage because it’s easier to get the ball when it’s a little bit farther away,” Peterson said. “The long wingspan obviously comes into play in the legs and being able to make those type of saves.”Peterson began playing soccer at 3 years old but it wasn’t until he was 11 that he made the transition from playing in the field to becoming a goalkeeper.“It was kind of by accident,” Peterson said. “I got stuck in the goal one game in AYSO and I just stuck with it.”Peterson is glad he made the position change.“I personally love the feeling of being that last line of defense for the team if they need me,” Peterson said. “If it helps the team, it’s perfect for me.”Peterson hopes he cap off his prep career by helping the Patriots win a Southwest Yosemite League championship and D-I section title.“We have so many runner-up plaques for D-I and D-II for soccer at our school,” Peterson said. “They’re hard to look at. The main goal this year is to get every win that we can, go to valley and hopefully win it. … I want to provide everything I can for the team, make any type of save they need me to make and really just do my job effectively and get as many clean sheets (shutouts) as I can.”Regardless of how things turn out in the section playoffs, Peterson’s soccer career will continue on at the next level.He verbally committed to play for Cal State Monterey Bay back in October.“They’re a rising program and in a good conference,” Peterson said. “I think it’s a good place to be.”