EPHS administration, family, friends, coaches, and county dignitaries were present to celebrate the momentous occasion with the student athlete.
Casas, along with his parents, shared their excitement for the start of his college athletic career, and thanked everyone who helped him get to where he is today including teachers, administration, friends, teammates, and EPHS Coaches Chavez and Rangel.
Several teammates spoke about Casas, and all had the same to say about him: they were happy to see him achieve such a great accomplishment because not only is he a great soccer player, but a great friend.
Pine Manor Head Soccer Coach John Shimer was brought in via video call to share in Casas’ special moment.
“He is a phenomenal student and you can see that dedication throughout his entire personality, the kids’ GPA is around 96 or 97, and to me that says a lot. He’s very professional, he’s a dedicated young man,” said Shimer. “We brought him out for an official visit last fall, we were able to get the chance to watch him play a little bit. We’re really glad to have him in the program and we’re looking forward to having him out here next year. I think honestly, Diego’s going to walk in and get some minutes as a freshman, which is unique for a goal keeper. I think he’s going to have to battle to get those minutes because we have other keepers within our team, but I think he’s got the talent to come and play right away as a freshman.”
EPHS Assistant Principal John Byrne closed the ceremony by commending Casas for his hard work and dedication that allowed him to be the third player in the EPHS program to be signed.
“There’s about 10,000 high school seniors this year, about 8,000 graduating soccer athletes probably in Texas, and there’s only about one percent of you that are doing what he just did, that get the opportunity to move on and do what you love,” said Byrne. “Mr. and Mrs. Casa, congratulations, you did a great job with your son, he’s moving on, he’s going to do good things. What he did is something to strive for, it can be done. We do about ten or fifteen of these [signing ceremonies] per year now, it’s pretty amazing what our kids have been able to do.”