Blue Comets welcome huge contributions from Letterlough
ASHEBORO — Cameron Letterlough says one of the best parts about the opening weeks of the season has been forging relationships with his new teammates.
He’s a freshman on the Asheboro boys’ soccer team.
It seems like he has made quite an introduction on the high school scene.
“I’ve just been scoring,” Letterlough said. “My team is really good and I have confidence to know when to shoot and not to shoot.”
Letterlough racked up five goals in a 9-0 victory against Randleman. He followed that last week with two more goals in a 7-1 triumph against Northwood.
“He’s something special,” Asheboro coach Nick Arroyo said. “He has no fear of anyone on the field.”
Arroyo said he didn’t know anything about Letterlough until he arrived for preseason practice. It didn’t take long for him to realize the newcomer would make an immediate impact.
“I never heard of him until he showed up,” Arroyo said. “The way he moves, you don’t see very often on the soccer field.”
Letterlough didn’t play for South Asheboro Middle School last year, saying he needed to concentrate on academics. However, he has been a member of NC Fusion, a Greensboro-based club team.
That gave him a good background. He said he wants to fit in with the Blue Comets.
“I was ready to step in and show them how I play,” he said.
Along with senior striker Jose Cortes, Letterlough’s spot in the lineup has provided a productive combination along the front line.
“We’ve got quite a bit of talent top to bottom,” Arroyo said, noting that Letterlough has been a key piece to the lineup.
Letterlough, who turns 15 years old later this month, said he knows there will be challenges ahead. After all, he’s on the scouting reports.
“Ever since that Randleman game, people noticed,” he said.
He said he wants to maintain the high level of production.
“My biggest strength is to have good runs and be able to finish,” he said. “(I want to continue) getting to know my teammates and to have fun.”
There’s also a bit of friendly competition between Letterlough and Cortes.
“He’s catching up,” Letterlough said.
Arroyo is a 2006 Asheboro graduate in his second season as school’s coach as well as directing the under-13 squad for the Asheboro City Football Club. He said the Blue Comets, who went 4-3-1 in the spring (when the 2020 season was shifted because of the pandemic), could be in line for a breakthrough season.
Asheboro entered this week with a 4-0-1 record.
“There’s a lot that’s going to be on the positive side,” Arroyo said. “We’re not a team of one. We’re a team together.”
