Former Franklin Regional soccer standout Velasquez to take year off

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, August 7, 2017 | 11:00 PM

Concussions have been a hot topic in the sporting world. Autumn Velasquez, a recent graduate of Franklin Regional, knows firsthand the difficulties that come from suffering a concussion.

Velasquez, who scored 31 goals at forward for the Panthers her senior season, suffered two concussions five months apart, including one near the end of the soccer regular season last fall.

Velasquez and the Panthers tied Mars for the Section 1-3A title, the second title in three years for the Panthers, with a 10-1-1 mark.

However, Velasquez, because of her concussion, was unable to play in the Panthers' 2-1 loss to Ambridge in the WPIAL Class AAA first round. Velasquez felt powerless as she was sidelined.

“It's super frustrating because you can see everyone else working hard, and you just want to help them out and do your part. But you know you can't,” Velasquez said.

“All you can do is support them from the side, and that was probably the hardest part about that.”

While making her college decision, the Division I recruit sought guidance from her parents as to whether she should continue her soccer career, put it on hold or focus solely on academics.

Velasquez made the decision to attend Kent State for nursing and take a year off from soccer. She intends to walk on to the women's soccer team during her sophomore year. Velasquez also considered attending Robert Morris or Penn State Behrend before deciding on Kent State.

“I'm just trying to stay positive, and I have been in contact with the coaches about walking on. I'm going to just try my best to stay in top shape,” Velasquez said.

“Also, I want to make sure I'm balancing everything with academics. It's really important for me to keep my grades high.”

Velasquez received All-WPIAL and all-section honors as a senior. She was joined by two teammates — junior midfielder Sophia Hudson and sophomore goalkeeper Tiffany Jolayemi — on the All-WPIAL team, and junior midfielder Lydia Jaskey earned all-section honors.

“It's definitely a huge blessing to me to be able to receive something like that,” she said. “I know that there were other girls that were honored with that, and it was a privilege to be named alongside those girls.”

Even though college hasn't officially started, Velasquez has made sure to keep herself ready to go if she decided in January to walk on while also keeping an eye on the development of her 9-year-old sister, Allyssa, as a soccer player. Velasquez has an older brother, Brent, who played soccer at Pitt-Johnstown and Pitt-Greensburg.

“I've been training a lot on my own, running, lifting and getting touches on the ball as much as I can,” she said. “I've also been trying to train my little sister and making sure she's ready for her season.”

With all her knowledge from the game, Velasquez always encourages her sister.

“I always tell her consistency is key and to always work hard and just dream, because anything is possible,” Velasquez said.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Franklin Regional