Huntington Junior Eli Soric is Driven to Succeed

Eli Soric has many talents and interests. The Huntington High School junior is driven to succeed in a classroom; strives to help others and the community at large through his involvement in several organizations and is a great teammate and player on the Blue Devil boys’ basketball team. As he looks forward to the future, the teenager intends to continue helping those who need it.

Mr. Soric has quickly bonded with Huntington’s rookie basketball coach. “Although this is his first year coaching, Peter Lipka has helped me become a better person and basketball player,” he said. “He is always encouraging me to improve and has made my first year on varsity basketball very enjoyable.”

The teenager is also close to a familiar face around Huntington’s hallways. “Mr. [Robert] Gilmor has been the faculty advisor for several clubs and activities that I’ve been in at the high school, including Habitat for Humanity, Natural Helper and JV tennis,” Mr. Soric said. “He has always encouraged me to be a better person and he also helped me ease into high school when I began here.”

Mr. Soric plans to study exercise science in college in preparation for a career as either an athletic trainer or physical therapist. He’s also interested in coaching.

“I’m a very hard working person as I know that things won’t just come to me so easily,” Mr. Soric said. “I mostly try to be a leader, but I also like to learn from others around me. I have a big family as I live with my mom, dad, three brothers and a dog. I’ve learned a lot from my older brother as he was the reason I started to play basketball, which is now a very important part of me.”

An excellent student academically, Mr. Soric is a member of five different honor societies, including ones covering math, science, social studies, English and music.

The teenager is currently enrolled in Advanced Placement English Language and Composition, Regents US History, Regents Pre-Calculus, Regents Physics, Introduction to Statistics, Health and Senior Band. “My favorites would be Intro to Statistics with Mrs. [Jordan] Swierkowski because it is very interesting learning a different side of math and Regents Physics with Mrs. [Stacey] Byrnes as she is a very fun teacher.”

The junior’s favorite sport is basketball and Mr. Soric is enjoying playing for the Blue Devil varsity team. He’s also a member of the high school’s marching band and volunteers with Huntington’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. The teenager was chosen as a Natural Helper by his classmates. As such, he works confidentially with fellow students who are encountering tough times and in need of support, advice and encouragement.

“My experience at Huntington High School has definitely been a good one,” Mr. Soric said. “I feel like I’ve changed a lot in my time here in a positive way. I’ve learned so much and met so many new friends.”

In his free time, the teenager has branched out. “This past summer I went to Arizona on a family trip,” Mr. Soric said. We went to the Grand Canyon and stayed at a house in Sedona. It was a lot of fun spending time with family and going on many hikes next to the canyons. In the past, we’ve also gone to the Niagara Falls in Canada and Nashville, Tennessee.”

While he was growing up, Mr. Soric tried his hand at a variety of sports, but basketball eventually overtook all of them. “Although I don’t plan on playing in college, I hope to be surrounded by it in whatever profession I end up in,”

Mr. Soric is enjoying himself, pursuing his interests, participating in clubs and sports and developing many worthwhile friendships. But he knows, one day it will be time to move on with his life.

“In 10 years, I would hope to be on the sidelines for a professional basketball and football team being one of the trainers,” Mr. Soric said. “I dream of working in that environment as it is very cool to me. One thing that has helped me get through school has been sports; mainly basketball. So I hope to stay involved with it in the future.”