MATTAWA — Wahluke senior Yerik Arrellano will get the chance to extend his soccer career as he heads to Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smiths, New York, next year.

Arrellano said he was looking to showcase his skills in his senior season before the spring athletic calendar got wiped away. Once practices were put on hold, Arrellano said, he started filming private training sessions and practices on his own.

Arrellano added his new training videos to FieldLevel, an athletic recruiting website where he already had a few highlights from previous seasons. It’s through that, Arrellano said, he first heard from his new head coach, Zack Luzzi, at Paul Smith’s College.

“He told me about his coaching career, where he’s been, his connections with other colleges as well,” Arrellano said. “He told me what he could offer, as in like housing and all of that. He also assured me he could find me a job over there.”

Knowing he’d potentially have a job lined up when he made the more than 2,600-mile trek to New York eased a lot of the stress, Arrellano added. He said his new head coach said they were looking for players to help better the soccer program after a tough season last year.

“He’s looking for people that are committed in putting in the work and making the team great,” Arrellano said. “That’s something that really convinced me because I really want to put the work in. And I feel like if I can make a big impact on a team that struggled last season, it would make me feel more accomplished as well.”

Having that signing finished now helped ease some worries, Arrellano said.

“I was really worried about how I’d get myself out there and get recruited for and get my college paid for,” Arrellano said. “Now that I’m committed and I’m signed, it really does take a lot of stress away for me.”

Arrellano said it seemed like it took a while to actually sink in that the season wasn’t going to happen for him and his teammates.

“It was really tough, honestly, because I saw so much potential in our team this year,” Arrellano said. “It was just so amazing to see how everyone was putting in so much work, and we were really looking forward to our first game. We felt like we had the right team and the right mindset to make it far this season.”

Arrellano said he knows he’ll keep in touch with teammates and friends once he heads off to college next season, but admitted it’s tough moving so far away and starting fresh.

“That’s one thing I am nervous about is having to move away from all of my friends and, basically, start over,” Arrellano said.

Arrellano said it took some convincing from friends, family and coaches to ultimately decide to make the move. In the end, Arrellano said he decided he’d just take the opportunity and see what comes of it.

Arrellano said he wants to see how far he can go with soccer, but admitted he has bigger plans for once he’s done on the field.

“If i could keep going past college, that would be a dream,” Arrellano said.