SU alum Nico Perea takes his soccer skills from grass to sand

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While kick-starting his beach soccer career, Nico Perea thought back on late-night trips to the Manley Field House. Along with teammates Trevor Alexander and Emil Ekblom, they rolled out a gymnastics mat on the turf. The trio crossed the ball hundreds of times as they attempted to pull off bicycle kicks, side volleys and acrobatic headers.

In beach soccer, these skillful moves are necessary. Now, when Alexander sees highlights of Perea playing for the U.S. National Team, he always sends him a text to remind him — “It all started at Manley!”

Beach soccer is a game that most in the United States may be unfamiliar with, but it encapsulates the highlight plays every audience loves. Perea never thought he would play this form of the game, but now he’s embarking on his second FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, beginning Feb. 15 in the United Arab Emirates.

“I knew it was something that was played on a professional and national level,” Perea said. “But I never thought about actually playing it.”

Before his transition to beach soccer, Perea played at Syracuse from 2011-14, where he started 73 of the 76 games during his four-year tenure. A decade following his SU career, Perea is one of U.S. beach soccer’s top players, winning the federation’s Player of the Year award in 2021 and 2022.

After taking off his Syracuse captain’s band for the final time, Perea had one thing on his mind — getting drafted to Major League Soccer. Perea said he heard rumors about him potentially getting selected, but he went undrafted.

Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre still saw the potential in Perea.

“I think he was one of the best to wear a Syracuse jersey, and I thought it was a little bit unfortunate not to find the right home,” McIntyre said.

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Perea did find a team in Jacksonville, Florida, with the Jacksonville Armada in the North American Soccer League. He spent two seasons with the Armada before bouncing around different leagues the next three years in Rio Grande Valley, Des Moines and Indianapolis. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Perea was forced to return home to Florida.

When Perea came home, he trained on the beach with U.S beach soccer head coach Francis Farberoff. The two met through mutual friends in the local soccer community.

Perea worked with Farberoff, strengthening his legs. Perea said the beach is a “great way to stay fit.” But Farberoff didn’t envision him as someone playing on the beach to just stay in shape.

As the pandemic dragged on, the chance to play beach soccer more frequently allowed Perea to dive further into the sport. Though Perea was not completely sold on leaving the grass game behind.

“When you love something and you’ve done it all your life, it’s hard to let go of it,” Perea said.

Yet something seemed to call Perea to the beach game. Being in Florida with his family and friends helped him begin to consider the option. He decided to switch paths, committing to beach soccer.

The change was only the first step in the transition. Though it holds the same name in “soccer,” the different playing field created new obstacles.

“When you play soccer on the beach for the first time, you feel like you’ve never played soccer before,” Perea said.

Tireless dedication to this new sport had major payoffs for Perea, as he made the U.S. National team ahead of the 2021 FIFA World Cup in Moscow.

In the U.S.’s first group game against Russia, Perea moved down the left side of the field, and received a pass from Nick Perrera, directly onto his left foot. With no hesitation, Perea fired a shot which deflected off the crossbar and in.

“In that moment, I was really locked in,” Perea said. “I believed truthfully, in myself, and I thought ‘okay, I got this.’”

But making it to the top level of beach soccer does not mean his transition is complete. Perea said everyday he’s still “finding out new things about the sport.”

Although still developing and honing his skills, moments like his goal against Russia has allowed everything to come together. The long awaited goal that he previously thought laid on the grass field, was actually on the beaches’ grains of sand.