Marble Falls grad Marco Almazan to play college soccer

CAPTION: Having tremendous touch on the ball and finding the back of the net is a part of what makes Marco Almazan great. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

Marble Falls High School graduate Marco Almazan has signed a National Letter of Intent to play college soccer for Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wa.

“They had a list of names,” Almazan said. “They heard of me. When you (search my name online) the first thing that comes up is my Spain highlight video.”

The Mustang spent five months in Cadiz, Spain, at the International Soccer Academy from January-May 2024.

Around June 1, CBC coaches contacted him about possibly joining the program.

Almazan, who played varsity soccer for the Mustangs throughout high school, said he took a virtual tour of the campus and enjoyed his conversations with the coaches. Those conversations convinced him to sign. He leaves July 19 and won’t return until December.

“I really liked it,” he said. “They recruited me as a midfielder and winger. I will hopefully be competing for a starting job.”

And that’s just what the CBC coaches told him, adding they didn’t recruit him from Texas to simply sit on the bench.

“Honestly, going into my senior year, I didn’t think I was going to school,” he said. “I thought about going pro in Mexico.”

In fact, Almazan had lined up an opportunity with Mexico’s Second Division, one step away from the professional league. In all there are six divisions with amateur being the sixth division.

But his parents, Marco Sr. and Elizabeth, talked their son about being prepared for what happens when he hangs up his cleats for business footwear.

“it was a family decision,” he said. “If it were just me, I would have gone. But my parents helped me realize I’m not going to play soccer for the rest of my life.”

Almazan said he and a friend took road trip to another college in the Metroplex with the aim of playing collegiate soccer.

“It wasn’t the right fit,” he said.

He will be a psychology major with a minor in business with the goal of helping athletes in the mental health arena.

“I knew I was going to do something,” he said. “I spent as much time with my friends as possible. Obviously my parents do believe in me as well. They want me to have a degree to fall back on something. Don’t give up – don’t think you can’t do it because others say you can’t.”