La Jolla Athlete of the Week: Wyatt Linggi helps carry Bishop’s soccer team to dominating season so far

When The Bishop’s School’s Wyatt Linggi takes to the soccer field, he has one objective in mind: complete domination of the other team.

And so far this season, the Knights (13-1-1 overall, 5-0 in Coastal League play) have had some lopsided wins: 7-1 over Francis Parker, 7-0 against Santa Fe Christian, 5-0 over local rival La Jolla High.

Though he has been playing soccer since he was a child, Linggi, 18, has played for the Bishop’s team only in his freshman and senior years. But in that time, he has made an impact as a striker.

“The most fun you can have in a game involves a systematic domination of the other team, when they don’t touch the ball and you ruin the other team’s day,” Linggi said. “Most of our games this season involved one or two early goals and then the teams even out, and then we put the pressure on and it wears on the other teams. But we also had some games where we continued to keep the pressure and won by a lot.”

Playing in tighter games is more stressful because it can go either way, he said. “There is a low margin for error. If the score is tied and the game is over in three minutes, it becomes a make-or-break situation.”

But Linggi said he and his Bishop’s teammates have learned to “maximize our strengths” and build team chemistry. “We have a small but good core group of players, especially on the attack side,” he said. “We’re doing well in that regard. Our defense is also organized and we don’t try to do as much playing in the back; we shift to the midfield and that’s where we find success.”

Bishop’s soccer coach Joey Yusunas called Linggi “a huge part of the success of our team” and said the best things about him are “his enthusiasm to play” and his “business-like attitude” that inspires other players.

“He shows up ready to play, works hard, makes his teammates work hard as well,” Yusunas said. “He challenges his teammates with his physicality and skills, so I’ve seen an improvement in our defense because they compete against him in practice.”

“One of his unique skill sets is he can make a goal out of nothing,” Yusunas added. “His hustle allows him to get the ball and all of a sudden, we have a goal.”

Linggi also found success with the Albion Soccer Club, a team he played on in his sophomore and junior years that features players from across the San Diego area and is considered more competitive.

“On the club team, I’m part of a whole; I don’t score nearly as much as I do with the school team,” Linggi said. “My job is to get people into scoring positions.”

His time on the club team helped him with college options, he said, and now that he has decided to attend Colorado College in Colorado Springs, he wanted to spend his senior year back with the Knights.

Regardless of the team he plays for, Linggi said he enjoys that soccer enables him to make use of different skills.

“There are so many ways you can be good at soccer,” he said. “It’s not just that you have to be tall or fast or strong. There are a lot of plans of attack. There are different skill sets that can apply.”

For the Knights, Linggi’s skill set is chiefly “putting the ball in the net,” he said. “I have good game intelligence. When I get the ball, I don’t lose it because of bad decision-making. I’m also fairly fast and pretty strong.”

The Knights next play at home against Orange Glen at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1. The regular season ends Friday, Feb. 10.

La Jolla Athlete of the Week features athletes from all sports in high school (La Jolla High, The Bishop’s School, La Jolla Country Day School) and other local youth sports. We’re looking not only for the stars of competition but also for student-athletes who set an example for teamwork, academic achievement and/or community involvement. Please email your nominations, and a way to reach your nominees, to Editor Rob Vardon at robert.vardon@lajollalight.com. ◆