Johnny Alcaraz Heads to Australia in Nike Miracles

Former Houston Dynamo midfielder Johnny Alcaraz takes off today on a quest to make a name for himself outside of the US Australia is his destination, with the hopes that he can sign a professional contract in time for the start of the new Hyundai A-League, which kicks off in August. Johnny has been a playing buddy of mine over the past few weeks, and has helped give his thoughts and feedback from time to time on cleats I have been testing. You might have even seen him in some of the pictures or videos I have posted, and I can personally tell you that he looks ready to make an impression. Over the past few weeks he has been working on perfecting a blazing free-kick that is sure to terrify any goalkeeper, it looks a little like Cristiano Ronaldo’s. I thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with him about his upcoming trip trip.

Johnny, thanks for taking time out to talk to us about your trip to Australia, tell us what you have planned.
No problem. So, I take off tonight (May 26th) and I will report to training camp with Newcastle Jets of the Hyundai A-league on May 31 for a trial.

What have your preparations been like?
I have spent the last two months training at Elite Athletics in Westlake, Ca. It’s a performance training center where a lot of top NFL and NBA players such as Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, Kobe Bryant to name a few have done their off season preparations. I did a three times a week program where the goal was injury prevention, improve my reaction time and build size, building more size to be able to run faster. I haven’t felt this good in a long time so I feel real good about the work I have been putting in to prepare myself for this opportunity.

What soccer cleats will you have in your bag?
I just purchased a new pair of Nike Mercurial Miracles, I love them!

Why are these your preferred choice?
Ronaldo from Brazil was my favorite player growing up so when Nike first came out with the Vapors, Ronaldo wore them so I started wearing them from then on. Plus, I have a narrow high arched foot and the vapors caters very well to the type of foot I have. I also love how light they are, I feel as though I’m always alert and on my toes ready to play.

What cleats have you worn throughout your career?
Nike Vapors. The only time that I didn’t wear vapors was when I was in College at UCSB. I wore Copas because we had Adidas uniforms but they stretched out too fast and soon after they didn’t fit. In the end I went back and got myself a fresh pair of vapors.

In MLS you are required to wear Adidas, how did you feel about this?
I was real nervous at first because I was so used to wearing Vapors, but as it turned out I never had to wear adidas as I got licensed to wear Nike.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, and keep us updated on how things are going in Australia!
I will, keep up the good work with SoccerCleats101!