Héctor Soto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Héctor Soto |
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Héctor Emilio Soto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Picky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Puerto Rican | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | June 28, 1978 New York City, New York, U.S. |
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| Hometown | Arroyo, Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 340 cm (130 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 332 cm (131 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing spiker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Last updated: April 21, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Héctor Soto (born June 28, 1978) is a famous former volleyball player from Puerto Rico. He was a very important member of the Puerto Rico men's national team. He was known for being an amazing scorer in many big tournaments. For example, he was the Best Scorer at the 2007 FIVB Men's World Cup in Japan. He also earned the Best Scorer award at the 2006 FIVB World Championship.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Héctor Soto was born in New York City, U.S., but grew up in Arroyo, Puerto Rico. He is married to Amnerys González, and they have two children named Camila and Maurizio. He went to Carmen B. Huyke High School. He also studied at Indiana University – Ft. Wayne. While there, he was named an AVCA Division I First Team All-American twice, in 1999 and 2000. He was also a Second Team All-American in 1998.
Volleyball Career Highlights
Héctor Soto started his professional volleyball journey in 1995. He played for many clubs around the world. He also represented Puerto Rico on the national team for over 20 years.
Starting in Puerto Rico
Soto began playing professionally with the Bucaneros de Arroyo club in Puerto Rico in 1995. Later, he joined Caribes de San Sebastián in 1998. With this team, he won the Puerto Rican League Championship in 1999. He was even named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Final Series.
Playing Around the World
After his success in Puerto Rico, Soto played for clubs in different countries.
- He played in the Tunisian League with Club Sportif Sfaxien in 2000-2001. His team won a silver medal in the 2001 African Volleyball Clubs Champions Championship.
- He then moved to Belgium and played for Noliko Maaseik in 2001-2002.
- From 2002 to 2006, Soto played for the Italian club Cagliari Volley. His team won the A-2 Championship in the 2004-2005 season. This win helped the club move up to Serie A-1, which is a higher league.
- He was recognized as the Best Male Athlete in Puerto Rico by ASES in 2006.
- Soto also played for the Panasonic Panthers in the Japanese League during the 2006-2007 season.
- He spent two seasons, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, playing in the Russian Super League for VC Lokomotiv Novosibirsk.
- In 2009-2010, he joined Arkas Spor in Turkey.
- He also played for Hyundai Capital Skywalkers in South Korea from 2010 to 2011.
National Team Achievements
Soto first played for the Senior National Team in 1995. He helped his team achieve many great results.
- At the 2006 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Japan, he was the Best Scorer. His team finished in 12th place.
- He was chosen to be the flag bearer for Puerto Rico at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. He was also the Best Scorer in the volleyball tournament there. His team finished in fifth place.
- In 2007, Soto was the team captain and the Best Scorer at the 2007 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship. He scored 104 points in that tournament.
- He won a bronze medal with his team at the 2010 Men's Pan-American Volleyball Cup.
- Soto played in the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Poland.
- In 2015, his national team reached the semifinals of the Pan American Games for the first time.
Return to Puerto Rico and Later Career
After playing internationally, Soto returned to play for clubs in Puerto Rico.
- He joined Mets de Guaynabo in 2010.
- In 2012, he moved to Capitanes de Arecibo. He helped his club win the Puerto Rican league championship in January 2013.
- He continued to play for Arecibo and helped them reach the final series in 2013-2014.
- In 2014, he won another Puerto Rican League Championship with Capitanes de Arecibo. He led his team with 16 points in the final match. This win also secured a spot for them in the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship.
- During his time in the Puerto Rican league, he broke the scoring record. He aimed to reach 6,000 points in his career.
- In 2016, he was acquired by Mets de Guaynabo again. He helped them win the Puerto Rican Championship for the second season in a row.
Beach Volleyball
Towards the end of his career, Soto also tried playing beach volleyball. He participated in the 2014–2016 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Cup. He hoped to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. However, his team did not make it past the semifinal round.
Clubs Played For
Bucaneros de Arroyo (1995-1998)- Caribes de San Sebastián (1998-2002)
Club Sportif Sfaxien (2000-2001)
Noliko Maaseik (2001–2002)
Alimenti Sardi Cagliari (2002–2003)- Terra Sarda Cagliari (2003–2005)
- Tiscali Cagliari (2005–2006)
- Playeros de San Juan (2005–2006)
Panasonic Panthers (2006–2007)
Lokomotiv Novosibirsk (2007–2009)
Arkas Spor Izmir (2009–2010)
Hyundai Capital Skywalkers (2010–2011)- Mets de Guaynabo (2010–2012)
- Capitanes de Arecibo (2012–2015)
- Mets de Guaynabo (2016–2017)
Awards and Medals
Héctor Soto won many awards and medals throughout his impressive career.
Club Awards
- 1999 Puerto Rican League –
Champion, with Caribes de San Sebastián - 2000-01 Tunisian Cup –
Runner-Up, with Club Sportif Sfaxien - 2000-01 Tunisian League – Runner-Up, with Club Sportif Sfaxien
- 2001 African Volleyball Clubs Champions Championship – Runner-Up, with Club Sportif Sfaxien
- 2002 Belgium League – Champion, with Noliko Maaseik
- 2002 Belgium Cup – Champion, with Noliko Maaseik
- 2004-05 Italian A2 Championship Champion – Champion, with Terra Sarda Cagliari
- 2010-11 Korean V-League –
Bronze medal, with Hyundai Capital Skywalkers - 2012-13 Puerto Rican League – Champion, with Capitanes de Arecibo
- 2013-14 Puerto Rican League – Runner-Up, with Capitanes de Arecibo
- 2014 Puerto Rican League – Champion, with Capitanes de Arecibo
- 2015 Puerto Rican League – Bronze medal, with Capitanes de Arecibo
- 2016-17 Puerto Rican League – Champion, with Mets de Guaynabo
