Zev Taublieb

Whiz Kid: Zev Taublieb

Grade: Senior

School: Agoura High School

Accomplishment: Zev will attend Valparaiso University in Indiana this fall on a soccer and academic scholarship. To reach this point, he traveled a long road paved with hard work. Zev’s father Paul writes: Not the biggest, not the fastest, but no kid has ever been more dedicated to being the best soccer player he can be. A product of AYSO soccer, Zev battled from level to level, slipping onto teams as the last man, and then working his way onto the field and showing toughness, character and determination. At 14, he was on a team that was disbanded and he was taken under the wing of Agoura-based coach Dan Metcalfe, a former pro from England, who placed Zev on the U-19 national championship team.  Zev has trained with the English Premier League's Fulham FC.

Key to awesomeness: Paul Taublieb writes that it is his son’s character that sets him apart. “He is mature, caring, kind and sophisticated as well as a soccer player who has beaten the odds to make it as far as he has—which is only the beginning.

To nominate a person or group to be the Malibu Patch Whiz Kid, send an e-mail to jonathan.friedman@patch.com.