As the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys’ soccer team begins their season, among others one player will be crucial to the Dragon’s success: number 9. One of the Dragons top forwards, Merric Bayless ‘24, leads Foothill Tech as an experienced and talented player.

When asked what soccer means to him, Bayless wholeheartedly stated, “soccer means a lot. It’s something that I can do for fun with my brothers or friends, but then it’s also something that turns super serious when I’m in a game and I put everything on the line.”

Bayless did not start his soccer career as the team captain of Foothill Tech. In fact Bayless’s soccer success has been a long upbringing. Bayless spoke on his start in the sport saying, “I started when I was about five, playing AYSO [American Youth Soccer Organization], I played that for two years then went to club soccer, then it went from there.”

As the current team captain of the Dragons, Bayless spoke on this title, saying, “It’s fun being a leader [and] leading warm ups. It’s fun being the person on the team people come to for help. It’s fun wearing the armband.” This joy for the sport and for being a leader is a must have for the Dragons, since last season Bayless was sidelined by a concussion he got while playing, Foothill Tech is happy to have him back on the field for his final year.

Bayless has had his fair share of success in the sport, and he spoke on some of his favorite moments, “I would say scoring the winning goal of the 2023 State Cup, and scoring on Senior Night last year [2022] in front of the home crowd was pretty fun.”

Soccer isn’t the only sport Bayless competes in; he also runs sprints in Track and Field for the Dragons. He spoke on how being a multisport athlete affects his soccer saying, “I started track when I was about 12 years old. It really helped with my running form which transferred over to the soccer field, and now I’m way faster.”

As Bayless leads the Dragons into his final season on the field, the Dragons hope to pick up their first win with their current record being 0-1-2.