Lakeland Christian's Daniel Tavira helps Lakeland United advance to nationals
It was a normal situation for Daniel Tavira.
For most of the year Lakeland United head coach Eric Leite brought in Tavira off the bench as the local United Premier Soccer League team boasts a bevy of talent, including several from Polk County. Tavira, 19, all season helped shut out three teams en route to an eventual record of 10-2-3. But this situation happened to be in the Florida West Conference Championship against Leg AZ World last week at Bryant Stadium.
“That particular game I came off the bench because my coach trusted me for the fact that I could end the game strong (and) handle all the pressure that was coming with the final,” Tavira said.
Leite brought in the Auburndale native — a former Lakeland Christian soccer player and graduate — with three minutes left in the game to shut the door. As a left center back, Tavira’s job is to stop any kind of scoring momentum, defending the line of five and running up and down the line. The biggest play of the game, though, happened to be when Leg AZ made a crossing pass into the box. The ball bobbled around before a bicycle kick was attempted, but Tavira was positioned in the zone directly behind the attempt where he dove and blocked the attempted score with his head.
The playoff game went into overtime before the United won the Florida West Conference Championship 0-0 following a 9-8 finish in the penalty shootout to become the UPSL Premier Division Conference champions. Yohan Bernard, a France native and a second-team All-American in his first year at Southeastern Community College, scored the game-winning penalty kick.
This clinched a national championship berth, but Lakeland United forfeited the game after the score was tied at 1 against Jacksonville FC at Bryant Stadium on Saturday.
Still, Tavira was instrumental in Lakeland having another fruitful season.
“In my personal experience it was nerve-wracking because I had to come into the game, the final, the last couple of minutes, and I couldn’t go in there week. I had to go in there strong (and) match everyone’s energy off the bench, and it was a big game,” Tavira said.
Tavira was used to playing in big games. He earned first-team, all-county twice in years the Vikings went to the regional final (2021) and then the regional quarterfinals (2022). Both years Lakeland Christian lost to the eventual state champions.
Tavira draws inspiration from father
Tavira grew up watching soccer on television thanks to Tavira’s father being a fan of the game. A father’s love of soccer was passed down to Tavira, who ultimately wanted to impress his father by playing the game.
“That’s the main reason why I play soccer, because of my dad. That’s the reason why I aspire to be great,” Tavira said. “I just want him to see me play at the next level.”
But it all started for Tavira when he played for a youth team in Auburndale at the age of 5. He played through his years at Berkeley Accelerated Middle School in Auburndale.
By the time Tavira turned 10, he was playing at Lakeland FC, another youth program now called Swan City Soccer Club. While playing against competition two years ahead of him was always helpful to accelerate his skills development, Tavira was diligently working on technical ability, fitness, knowing the game as well as IQ.
This helped his nationally ranked squad win back-to-back titles.
A few years later Tavira went on to play for Lake Region as a freshman and sophomore. He then transferred to Lakeland Christian when he was junior.
“The coach (Grandy Streets) had great connection with a bunch of colleges,” Tavira said.
Once he started with Lakeland Christian, he didn't stop working because of the connections. Tavira arduously worked on the speed of the game and knowing the game, which led to two first-team all-county nods.
He said his dad was huge in his development.
“My dad is definitely my biggest inspiration," Tavira said. "He hypes me up (and) he tells me when I do good or when I do bad ― pros and cons on how I played.”
Tavira's dad has many opportunities to critique. While Tavira was playing for Lakeland Christian his senior year, he also played for the West Florida Flames Soccer Club, but he sprained his meniscus in March of 2022 which kept him out for five months before coming back.
His next step was with the Lakeland United — a local bridge program utilized to help student-athletes pursue their soccer dreams.
“It’s more than soccer. It teaches you accountability (and) it teaches you to be responsible — it teaches you just a lot more than soccer,” Tavira said. “It’ll allow me to be a better person."
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Tavira assists Lakeland United in UPSL soccer playoffs
