Velez's fancy soccer dribbling moves up for vote

Even though Juliana Velez was born in a soccer-crazy country, she didn't have the same opportunities to play as the boys.

The Colombian native didn't fully realize her talent and potential until her family moved from Cali -- the third-largest city and sports capital of the South American country -- to the U.S. when she was 6 years old.

Now, the Schaumburg resident and Conant freshman has a chance to be recognized as the best youth freestyle soccer player in the Chicago area.

After her aunt informed Velez's mother Ana of the Univision-sponsored contest, Juliana Velez went out and impressed the judges. She balanced the ball between her feet and kicked it over her head, she juggled dozens of times and even caught a ball between her shoulder blades.

All of the tricks earned her a spot in the final 25. Another round of cuts left Velez in the top five and a chance to be selected as the best. Online voting (www.univision.com/contentroot/locales/16ch/jhtml/sp/NOMETA_mero_splash_20080820.jhtml) started Monday and ends Sunday. There also is a short video of the final five contestants.

"I felt pretty confident I could make the top 25," said Velez, who plays for the Schaumburg Spirit. "I knew my tricks were good enough."

Top prize is a round-trip plane ticket to Mexico to watch a soccer match.

Also a member of Conant's cross country team, the midfielder plans to try out for coach Jason Franco and the Cougars varsity soccer team in the spring. Her distant future intentions are to play college soccer and possibly turn professional.

Despite her obvious knack for flamboyance, Velez understands that soccer requires more than being able to wow your opponents with an array of fancy footwork.

"It's pretty different," she said. "You have to put your mind into the game with a whole team."