The Morgan boy’s soccer team is preparing for the Shoreline tournament, this week, as the  #1 seed, getting a first round bye. Saturday, they will be playing at 6 pm vs the winner of the ⅘ seed (between Cromwell  and East Hampton. The Pawprint sat down with starting center back,  junior captain, Colton Landino going into the tournament to learn why Landino makes the team so successful. 

Landino is motivated due to losing last year in the semi-finals vs Old Saybrook, and now wants to take revenge and pull through with a shoreline finals win. However, his passion for soccer didn’t start last year, it has been a long time coming. 

Landino started playing soccer when he was four years old in Park and Rec. From then on, he always wanted to be a captain. “I define myself as a leader,” Colton said. “I’m loud, encouraging, energetic, and respectful.” He has shown  these traits  even from a young age. 

Landino was named captain this year, as a junior. “I sort of knew I was going to become a captain just based on my leadership skills and my loud qualities, and my outgoing ability to make sure everybody and myself are having fun,” Colton said. 

Landino prides himself on making sure people on the team feel included and supported. “I make sure that I get my point across respectfully,” he said. “I want everybody to be involved. If there’s any groups that need people, I always hop in to help people out,” Colton said. With four captains on the team, they all have the goal of trying to not leave people out. 

“My mom has always been there for me when I needed her, and she supports me in everything I do. She has helped me grow and made me the person I am today,” Colton said.

Landino has been on the team for three years and has experienced years of role models. He especially looks up to one of the past captains at Morgan, Eddie Ortiz. “Eddie was a really good one,” Colton said, “He made us all feel welcome and pushed us to be the best we could because he knew our potential.”

What Landino appreciated most about Ortiz was his willingness to understand but motivate the team. Landino believes that Ortiz wanted the team to try as hard as they could because he knew their potential. “When we were fooling around in practice and not taking it seriously, and we had a big game before that, Eddie yelled at us, saying, ‘get on the line’, and that made us just focus up, so we didn’t have to run again,” Landino remembered. 

Ortiz;s traits of being a hard worker and wanting to get the best out of each and every player reflects on Landino. Landino believes he captures traits of past captain Eddie Ortiz, saying, “I would like to say that I have similar traits to Eddie – keeping everybody in line and making sure that people don’t fool around too much, but still have fun,” Colton said.

It isn’t always easy being a leader. Being a leader requires lots of discipline. Junior backup goalie Hayden Darr said, “There was one time when we were kind of messing around at practice, and Colton told us to lock in. Not in a mean way, but in a way that got us back on track.” 

Bowen Gerz also said good things about Landino’s role on the team. “On the field, his knowledge of the game and how he communicates with everyone is huge He’s got great energy and always keeps us focused. He’s just a good guy and a great captain.”

Even during tough games, Landino helps the team stay positive. On September 24th,The Morgan boys soccer team faced Cromwell in a tough game. Morgan was up 2-0 with 25 minutes in the second half. That was when the game shifted into Cromwell’s favor, when they tied the game 2-2. The game ended with a score of 3-3. Morgan’s defense fell apart in the second, half leading to this result. 

Landino has had to learn to deal with those tough moments.  “I try to get them out of their head,” he said. “I tell them to focus on the game and keep moving forward.” 

However, for Landino, it’s not all about wins and losses. “It’s a really good family,” he said. “We bring the best out of each other and lift each other up when things get hard.”

Colton Landino shows what true leadership looks like; he always tries to be the best version of himself.