Consol's Georghiades leads Tigers by staying on move in midfield

As a midfielder, soccer has kept Nicos Georghiades moving.

And that is just fine with the A&M Consolidated senior standout.

"I tried to play football in seventh grade and was a kicker, but I didn't like that," Georghiades said. "It was boring. I like getting the ball a lot. It's good that I can distribute it and move around."

The Tigers' center midfielder stays on the move in many ways.

"I play soccer in Houston, so I'm there three times during the week," Georghiades said. "We have a game on the weekend. Whether we're traveling or flying, we're going somewhere."

Georghiades played in Sweden for two weeks in the Youth World Cup in the summer of 2009.

"It was probably the best experience of my life," Georghiades said. "I played against a kid that got bought by Real Madrid for $25 million. He's my age. I've got a picture with him. We won that game 1-0, and I scored that goal."

His team lost to the eventual champions from Sweden but finished third out of 256 teams.

"I represented the USA, and it was a good experience."

The Greek name stands out almost as much as his high level of play.

"My Dad was the first person in the family to move here," said Georghiades of his Greek heritage. "My Mother's Irish. Her maiden name is Mulligan."

Georghiades is about to complete an alpha-to-omega run with the Consol Tigers, although he would like to hold on before earning that final letter on his team. The Tigers will face McKinney Boyd Friday at 7 p.m. in the Class 5A area playoffs at Ennis' Memorial Stadium.

"He will be the third player here who played all four years on the varsity," Consol head boys soccer coach Chris Kovacs said. "He just has a presence about him. You can sense that on the field on the first touch. Whether you're the opposing coach, an opposing player or you're a fan, you think that this guy is going to do something that's going to impress me during the game."

He was impressive in the 2-1 bi-district upset of Longview on Tuesday.

"On the first goal we scored against Longview, he had a pinpoint, cross-the-field pass that Brandon O'Donovan was able to bring down and score because it was so perfect," Kovacs said. "There's not many guys who can make that pass. There are not many guys who can even see that that's available and open."

Georghiades sees a lot. He believes that might be the strength of his game.

"I have really good vision," he said. "I guess it's an instinct. I know where players are going to make the run, and I see it ahead of time. And I have a good first touch and good skills on the ball."

The instinct to pass took some time to develop.

"His sophomore and junior years, he very much looked to score first," Kovacs said. "This year, he has slid into a guy who creates and draws the attention to him. He leads the team with assists this year, and he's been out some time with an injury."

Georghiades might still take a goal over an assist, but if Consol scores, he's happy.

"I like to score -- I mean, everyone does -- but I like making good passes so my teammates can score too," Georghiades said. "I just like being in the action all of the time."

His is unlikely to overpower an opponent.

"I see typical American soccer players as more physical and less skillful," Georghiades said. "I seem myself more as a European-style skilled player that goes up for headers and challenges. I still have challenges, but I prefer to move the ball around and let it do the work."

His vision and comfort level on the field makes him appear to be a natural at the game that he has played most of his life.

"I've been playing since I was four," Georghiades said. "I used to kick balls around a lot, but wasn't necessarily stuck to soccer when I was four or five. I played basketball. I don't remember much, but I know I was a really active kid."

Club play, and the individual skill level that has come with it, has allowed several of the Tigers concentrated on team play. Yet, Kovacs was unsure if he would lose his standout midfielder to club play.

Georghiades has not plans to play at the college level. He plans to attend Texas A&M and study kinesiology.

"I had a lot of offers, but I turned them all down and am going to A&M," Georghiades said. "I haven't decided if I want to take physical therapy school for two years after that, or if I want to get into coaching and training with a club."

He's got vision off the field, too, and for now, he wants to keep his soccer team on the move, moving ahead in the playoffs.

"I like the pressure in the playoffs where if you lose you're out," Georghiades said. "It makes you want to win more. You have more of a desire to win and a reason to win. The games just mean more."