Chris Cernick has worked hard to develop his soccer skills over the past several years. (Photo courtesy Cernick)
The journey continues, with a bright new destination.
Coupeville grad Chris Cernick, who played soccer and basketball for the Wolves, has spent a considerable amount of time post-high school chasing his pitch dreams.
All the work and drills, often seen in his TikTok videos, seem to be paying off.
Here, in his own words, is an update on his love affair with the beautiful game.
I am so happy to announce I have just made my first semi-pro indoor soccer team with Snohomish Sky!
It has been a long journey, a lot of ups and downs, but most of all a big learning experience for me.
I have grown not just as a player, but as a person. Soccer has made me a better human being.
I started playing soccer at the age of 15 with my dad’s co-ed rec league for Central Whidbey Soccer Club.
I was one of the only boys on the team at the time. My dad gave us homework, I thought homework, no thanks!
However, one day I got bored and started messing around with the ball and I fell in love with it.
I mean so much that my parents would ground me from soccer instead of video games or TV.
Imagine that, imagine getting grounded from doing exercise, ha ha.
Soccer was so fun all I needed was a ball and some space and I was happy.
Putting in work year-round. (Photo courtesy Cernick)
It was at this point that I knew it was more to me than just a hobby. I decided that I wanted to play professionally one day, and I was going to do whatever it took to get what I wanted.
What I didn’t know was that not everyone is so enthusiastic about dreams as I was, and I learned that the hard way.
Going forward I played my first high school season on JV but didn’t start till later because I broke my toe practicing a Neymar skill I saw on YouTube and wanted to try.
Sophomore year I played JV but came onto varsity for a little bit and scored my first goal.
Then junior year came along and that’s where it got rough.
I played varsity but wasn’t very good and because of it I was made fun of, and my dreams were crushed.
It almost pushed me to the edge of quitting, but I decided to stay till the end of the season.
I eventually lost my confidence and took a break after, didn’t train as much.
Then that summer I had the opportunity to play for South Whidbey’s select team and met my coach Kevin Flavin, who to this day inspires me and mentors me along my journey.
He was a semi-pro player at the time and such an amazing coach that he brought back my love for the game and increased my confidence in myself so much.
This was also where I was first introduced to South Whidbey pickup games!
Anyways then, senior year comes along and I’m so excited for my senior season but then Covid happens, and we don’t play.
At this point I was still deciding on chasing my dream after high school or taking a position in the military where I could live comfortably.
I decided that I didn’t want the military life and that I loved soccer too much.
So, I went for it, but this time I told myself I’m going to train as much as possible and put my all into it.
I started making videos to get noticed more and show off my talent, also to record my progress.
I got to 1,000 followers and I thought hey, I could start recreating videos I see off of the internet.
The first person I saw was Hay10en and so I started recreating his videos until I finally got a follow!
Then I thought bigger — if I can do this then maybe Streetpanna, who has like a million followers would at least like my video.
So, I started recreating his, as he was a big inspiration of mine since senior year.
To my surprise he followed my account and even sent me a voice message which to this day keeps me going.
It was around this point that I had also met Soccerdave, a former professional player who also posted videos of his progress.
I thought if he can do it I can too!
If I can do what seems impossible, then I can make it professionally as well, with a lot of hard work!
I started going to pickup games at South Whidbey and found out I was way behind everyone; I would make so many embarrassing mistakes and I just wasn’t the player I thought I was.
However, I continued to come out eager to learn and watch great players like Andrew Curtis, a semi-pro player who has been giving me advice for years now on how to make it to the next level.
Eventually I got better and confident enough to join a Sunday league team in Mount Vernon, but I didn’t play much for a while because my confidence wasn’t there.
Flash forwards a year later and I tried out for my first semi-pro teams in Bellingham and Everett but didn’t do very good.
However, I got to see what the level looked like and what I needed to improve on.
Later on, I hear Kevin Flavin makes it professional for indoor at 32 and that sets off a spark in me.
I was 21, he was 32. If he could do it there was hope for me as well.
I trained like I never had before, started working out more, cut out all distractions and just went to pick up games.
Outdoor tryouts come for Bellingham. I scored a goal and an assist, but I just barely missed making the team.
If I can almost make it, I’m almost there I say!
So, I start going to more pickup games almost every day now, plus Sunday league games; it becomes work on top of the work I already do.
I start playing better at Sunday league games and eventually get my confidence up at pickup.
After six months I felt ready to go out to tryouts and make it happen and so last night I finally achieved just that. I made my first semi-pro team at 22 years old!
I want to share my story with you all to show that even a smalltown boy with big dreams can make it happen.
It’s not going to be easy, but life isn’t meant to be easy; that would make it boring.
I trained for three years of my life as hard as I possibly could while working for the family pest control business in order to chase my dream.
Not glamorous, but at the end of the day I had soccer to keep me going and that’s all I cared about.
If you find something you love as much as I love soccer, don’t give up on it because nothing is impossible. We are stronger than we know.
Starting his run on the pitch back in his CHS days. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
I took a chance and now I’m living my impossible dream; you can too!
I want to thank my parents for supporting me throughout this journey, giving me a job and a place to stay. You guys have no idea how much it means to me!
I also want to thank a lot of people I have met along the way throughout my journey.
Starting with Streetpanna, Hay10en, and Soccerdave for giving me hope and inspiring me every day through social media.
Also big thanks to Andrew Curtis and Emmet Laymen for continuing to give me advice throughout the years. They are such great players that I really look up to.
Always fun playing with you guys!
Nils and Eli, it was great playing with you guys at pickup and thank you for believing in my ability!
Antonio, it has been great playing with you in Sunday league and watching you develop into such a great player!
I owe a big thanks to Mike, Chris, and Kevin from South Whidbey pickup, for continuing to give me advice and make me the player I am today.
Also, thank you Kyle for being a friend and helping me play better.
Thank you, Ramon, for continuing to believe in me and helping me to play the game better.
Rob Wood, I had a lot of fun at those practices and learned a lot more about the game over the years just by listening to you.
You are a very great coach; one I wish I had in high school.
Lastly, a huge thank you to Snohomish Sky and the staff for giving me the opportunity to grow and learn with them!
I am so excited my journey is only just beginning; here’s to the next chapter in my life!
Coupeville Sports 