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“The Youngest Loco”

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EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The El Paso Locomotive FC have signed its youngest professional athlete in club history.

Kenneth Hoban, who is just 15-years-old and an El Paso native, began his journey with the El Paso Locomotive Youth Soccer and worked his way up to becoming the first player to sign a USL contract.

 “The goal was always to be a professional athlete," Hoban said. "I told my parents at three-years-old that I wanted to do this. I asked them why people have their names on the back of their jersey’s and I said one day, I'm going to have a name on the back of my jersey.”

To fulfill his dreams of becoming a professional athlete, came sacrifice. Hoban has been taking online classes since the eighth grade to focus on training, which meant living a less social life as a teenager.

“Whether it was skipping events, parties or taking time after school to train," Hoban. "My dad has made a lot of sacrifices for me, whether it’s taking time out of his day to take me to training or whether it’s taking time out of his day to talk to me and help me improve with things.”

Not only did Kenneth make history with the club but he also received a special proclamation from the city of El Paso.

"I was honored to receive something from them (City Council members)," Hoban said. "It was something that I wasn’t expecting but I’m very honored to have received something that from them and it was a great experience, great moment."

Hoban is aware of the difficulty of earning a starting position in such a competitive league however, his main focus is helping the team in any way he can to help them get back to the top.

“He’s surrounded by professionals that have played in all sorts of leagues around the world," Kenneth's dad John Hoban said. "So, I just want to see how much he can absorb and learn from them because in reality, he is 15”

Kenneth made a dream that's he's been chasing since the age of three, come true.

“It was always a goal to go pro," Kenneth said. "Especially with Locomotive, it’s an honor because I get to stay in my hometown with my family, friends and play for the team that has represented me for the past five years of my life. I know that they’re going to help me achieve whatever I need to achieve in my career.”

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Bea Martinez

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