By Mitch Silver

The Beach Boys sang about it more than 50 years ago in “Be True to Your School”:

<When some loud braggart tries to put me down
And says his school is great
I tell him right away, “Now what’s the matter buddy
Ain’t you heard of my school?
It’s number one in the state.”
So be true to your school …>

It was love for his friends, his teachers, and his school that led Luis Galeano to leave his year-round academy soccer team after ninth grade and show up to play with the guys from the neighborhood on the Rye Neck team. Now, three years later, his high school career is over and Luis is heading off to the University of Albany, where he’ll play for the nationally ranked Great Danes in the fall.

“Playing for F.C. Westchester was good for improving my technique on the ball, but something was missing. Everybody there was playing for himself, looking to get good enough to earn a college scholarship. Me too. I found myself playing for the name on the back of the jersey, not the one on the front. So I decided to come back to play for Coach Gizzo and Coach Iacovelli.”

And Frank Gizzo and Bryan Iacovelli are glad he did. In the three years Luis played for the Panthers, the team went to the Sectional finals every time, winning in 2014. In two of those three years they lost their final game to the eventual State champs. Meanwhile, Luis was earning All-League, All-Section, and, last year, All-State honors.

Here’s what his teammates had to say at his letter-of-intent signing two weeks ago: “He’s a natural leader, even though he’s totally unselfish.” “His talent alone lifts everyone else up, but it’s Luis’ competitiveness that makes us winners.” “He’s a down-to-earth good guy.”

Last year, Albany lost a squeaker to Clemson in the NCAA Regionals. With a natural leader and down-to-earth good guy playing for them, they just might go all the way.