>> EVERY GREAT ATHLETE THAT COMES THROUGH OUR GULF COAST HAS THE ABILITY TO MAKE A LASTING IMPACT IN THIS COMMUNITY. GULF COAST SPORTS REPORTER BRADLEY SHEMA WAS AT A PRACTICE WITH THE TOP GAME ACADEMY TO SEE THIS FIRSTHAND. >> HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, WE LOVE SEEING OUR FORMER ATHLETES SUCCEED, BUT THERE IS NOTHING MORE FULFILLING THAN SEEING THEM MAKE AN IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITIES. LEONARDO PEREZ WAS A SOCCER PHENOM AT MARINER HIGH SCHOOL, WINNING THE GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AS A JUNIOR AFTER PLAYING COLLEGIATELY AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY. HE CAME BACK TO CAPE CORAL TO GIVE BACK TO THE PLACE THAT SUPPORTED HIM. YOU KNOW, SOMEONE CALLED ME, YOU KNOW, THAT’S CALLED. GONNA MY LIFE WAS JUST ABOUT, HEY, I WANT YOU TO WORK WITH MY PLAYERS, YOU KNOW, A MUCH TO WORK WITH MY KID. >> AND I JUST I LIKE YOU KNOW, DO BEGIN TRAINING THE YOUNG SOCCER STARS OF CAPE CORAL AND EVENTUALLY ESTABLISH TOP GAME ACADEMY, A SOCCER PROGRAM THAT FOCUSES ON PLAYER DEVELOPMENT ON AND OFF THE FIELD. SOCCER WILL AND ONE DAY AND WHETHER YOU’RE 40, WHETHER YOU’RE 20 YEARS OLD, EITHER YOU’RE TOLD LIKE MYSELF, IT WILL IN ONE DAY. >> AND THESE BOYS NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR LIFE. SO THAT WAY WHEN THEY ARE GOING THROUGH LIFE. >> YOU KNOW, THERE ARE NO SURPRISES COACHES. THEY DO DISCIPLINE. RESPECT FOR US AND SHOW US HOW WE SHOULD DOING WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING IN THE REAL WORLD AND NOT JUST IN SOCCER FROM TRAINING SESSIONS TO COMPETING AGAINST TEAMS ACROSS THE STATE. >> TOP GAME ACADEMY HAS OFFERED PLENTY SOUTHWEST FLORIDA’S YOUTH OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS. IF YOU ASK THE PROGRAM’S LEADER, HE THINKS THAT THE SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR ANYONE THAT TAKES PART HONESTLY THE DAYS AND I’M HOPING IS THAT THESE BOYS MAKING A LOT FURTHER THAN I DO. >> NOT JUST SOCCER, BUT IN LIFE. YOU KNOW, IF THESE GUYS CAN BE EVEN 10 TIMES BETTER THAN I WAS, WHETHER THAT’S IN SOCCER. AND AS FAR AS A MAN, THEN, YOU KNOW, I DID MY JOB. LEONARDO AND HIS STAFF WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITIES COVERING THE GULF COAST IN CA
Former Cape Coral soccer star trains athletes on and off field through Top Game Academy
Updated: 7:24 PM EDT Jun 17, 2026
Here in Southwest Florida, we love seeing our former athletes succeed, but there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing them make an impact in our communities.Leonardo Perez was a soccer phenom at Mariner High School, winning the Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior.After playing collegiately at the Naval Academy, he came back to Cape Coral to give back to the place that supported him.Top Game Academy Founder Leonardo Perez said, “Someone called me, best call I’ve ever gotten in my life; it was just about, ‘Hey, I want you to work with my players, I want you to work with my kid,’ and it kind of changed my life.Perez began training the young soccer stars of Cape Coral and eventually established Top Game Academy, a soccer program that focuses on player development on and off the field.Perez said, “Soccer will end one day, and whether you’re 40, whether you’re 20 years old, whether you’re a coach like myself, it will end one day, and these boys need to be prepared for life, so that way when they are going through life, there aren’t any surprises.”Top Game Academy participant Colin Vankovevring said, “The coaches, they build discipline and respect for us and show us how we should be doing, what we should be doing in the real world and not just in soccer.”From training sessions to competing against teams across the state, Top Game Academy has offered plenty to Southwest Florida’s youth over the past three years.If you ask the program’s leader, he thinks that the sky is the limit for anyone who takes part.Perez said, “Honestly, the biggest thing that I’m hoping is that these boys make it a lot further than I do, not just in soccer, but in life. If these guys can be even 10 times better than I was, whether that’s in soccer or as a man, then I did my job.”Perez and his staff will continue to work towards making a positive impact in our communities.DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. —
Here in Southwest Florida, we love seeing our former athletes succeed, but there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing them make an impact in our communities.
Leonardo Perez was a soccer phenom at Mariner High School, winning the Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior.
After playing collegiately at the Naval Academy, he came back to Cape Coral to give back to the place that supported him.
Top Game Academy Founder Leonardo Perez said, “Someone called me, best call I’ve ever gotten in my life; it was just about, ‘Hey, I want you to work with my players, I want you to work with my kid,’ and it kind of changed my life.
Perez began training the young soccer stars of Cape Coral and eventually established Top Game Academy, a soccer program that focuses on player development on and off the field.
Perez said, “Soccer will end one day, and whether you’re 40, whether you’re 20 years old, whether you’re a coach like myself, it will end one day, and these boys need to be prepared for life, so that way when they are going through life, there aren’t any surprises.”
Top Game Academy participant Colin Vankovevring said, “The coaches, they build discipline and respect for us and show us how we should be doing, what we should be doing in the real world and not just in soccer.”
From training sessions to competing against teams across the state, Top Game Academy has offered plenty to Southwest Florida’s youth over the past three years.
If you ask the program’s leader, he thinks that the sky is the limit for anyone who takes part.
Perez said, “Honestly, the biggest thing that I’m hoping is that these boys make it a lot further than I do, not just in soccer, but in life. If these guys can be even 10 times better than I was, whether that’s in soccer or as a man, then I did my job.”
Perez and his staff will continue to work towards making a positive impact in our communities.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.