Max Hawkins isn’t your typical teenager, or athlete for that matter.
At just 13-years-old, the Lewis-Palmer Middle School seventh grader has already played soccer in multiple countries and is being heavily recruited by U.S. Soccer. He is also already thinking about a professional soccer career, possibly in Europe, and one that could begin before he’s even out of his teens.
Max said he began playing soccer as soon as he could walk and was playing organized soccer by the time he was four, and against six-year-olds. He’s also the third in line of talented soccer players in his family. His older brother just finished his third year of soccer in Europe, at just 20-years-old, and his older sister, Lilli Hawkins, a sophomore at Palmer Ridge, was the leading scorer for the girls varsity soccer team last year.
When asked what he likes most about the game, Max said he enjoys the physicality, just getting out and running, and the freedom he feels on the field. “It really frees me,” he said.
As for where his talent comes from, Max said it’s clearly in his genes, but is also attributed to a lot of hard work and dedication.
“He fell in love with it, and lives and breathes it,” Max’s dad Toby Hawkins said.
Twelve months out of the year Max is playing and training and has the drive to maintain that schedule.
“Days are few and far between that he has off, but he isn’t begging me to take him to the gym or to the Air Force Academy to get on the field and practice shots. And he’ll be there the whole evening by himself just training. I don’t ever have to push him,” his dad added. “Maybe other than fishing, he doesn’t want to do anything, but play soccer.”
Locally, Max plays for Real Colorado, in the Elite Club National League, a top developmental youth soccer league in the country. Conferences are made up of teams from multiple states in different regions of the U.S. This means Max travels a lot.
“A normal week for us could be we fly into Louisiana on a Friday. Play in Louisiana on Saturday. Jump on another flight to Houston. Play there on Sunday, and then fly back to Denver that night,” Max’s dad explained.
According to the Hawkins Family, this is just part of the gig, if you want to play for one of the top clubs in the nation.
“They’ve produced a lot of the top teams over the last few years in the national youth leagues,” said Max’s dad. “The girls' side is equally as good, if not better. They have two girls on the U.S. National Team, they’re two of the best players in the world, Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith. Last year, four Real Colorado players also went in the first round of the MLS draft,” he added.
In recent months, and weeks, Max has been attending invitation-only camps to try out for the U.S. U-15 Boys' National Team, which according to U.S. Soccer, “serves as a developmental and identification squad for potential future national team players, and identifies potential talent and prepares players for future involvement in international soccer.”
Most recently, Max was invited to the U.S. Soccer Federation Boys Regional Camp in Fayetteville, GA, where he went through another round of tryouts for the national team. He won’t find out if he’ll be heading to the next round until May or June, but he and his family are confident in his chances.
“Our U.S. National Coach, Coach Arturo, has come to see Max play and practice. He’s very interested in Max as a player and calls his local coach often to discuss Max,” Toby said. “He’s on a path, it’s called a pro-path. He won’t play in high school and he’ll be directly on a path that can lead to an early professional contract or a high level Division 1 college” Hawkins added.
When asked what his ultimate goal with his soccer career is, Max said the pinnacle of competitive soccer is the highest professional level in Europe, but the greatest achievement would be to wear the U.S. uniform.
“We’ve talked about this a lot, and playing for your country and wearing that U.S. badge is the greatest honor,” his dad added. “There’s lots of U.S. pro players, but only the best of the best pro players get to wear that U.S. badge and represent their country.”
Outside of the U.S. National Team process, Max was also recently selected to play on a club team representing the U.S. in Belgium. There, he’ll play against the top European academy teams with other athletes from U.S. club teams.
While this may sound like a lot for a young teenager, Max said his family is super supportive and proud of him. His older brother will even admit that Max might be the best soccer player in the family.
“My brother compliments me a lot and tells everybody how good I am,” Max said. “He’s probably stronger and faster than me, cause he’s older, but I think I’m more talented than him.”
“He came home [Max’s brother] after playing in Spain this last year, and he and Max were training together. And he came off the field and said, ‘Hey dad, he’s already better than me, and I just finished my third year in Europe’,” Toby said about his eldest son. “They’ll give him a hard time to his face, but his brother and sister are incredibly supportive,” he added.
Not only does Max receive a huge amount of support from the people closest to him, but his family said his school has been incredibly supportive of this journey as well.
“For you guys as a district and a community to highlight Max like this, and it being something that’s not specific to LPMS is incredible,” Toby said. “Mrs. Harrell being a soccer player in the past, she understands the gravity of this and pushed for it. You guys are an incredible district, and it’s an incredible school, and we’re so thankful for you and the staff and everyone who has helped with this,” he added.
