Héctor Soto

Héctor Soto (born June 28, 1978 in New York City, New York) is a former volleyball player from Puerto Rico, who was a member of the Men's National Team that ended up in sixth place at the 2007 FIVB Men's World Cup in Japan and received the Best Scorer individual award. He played in the 2006 FIVB World Championship, being also named Best Scorer of the tournament.

Héctor Soto
Personal information
Full nameHéctor Emilio Soto
NicknamePicky
NationalityPuerto Rican
Born (1978-06-28) June 28, 1978
New York City, New York, U.S.
HometownArroyo, Puerto Rico
Height1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb)
Spike340 cm (130 in)
Block332 cm (131 in)
Volleyball information
PositionWing spiker
National team
1995–2016 Puerto Rico
Medal record
Men's volleyball
Representing  Puerto Rico
NORCECA Championship
Silver medal – second place2007 AnaheimTeam
Pan-American Cup
Bronze medal – third place2010 San JuanTeam
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 San Salvador Team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Cartagena Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Mayagüez Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Veracruz Team
Last updated: April 21, 2018

College

Soto is married with Amnerys González and has two children, Camila and Maurizio.[1] He studied in the Carmen B. Huyke High School.[2]

Career

Soto started playing professionally with the Puerto Rican club Bucaneros de Arroyo in the 1995 season,[3] he then played with Caribes de San Sebastián since 1998 when Arroyo and San Sebastian merged,[1] winning the 1999 Puerto Rican League Championship with this team and becoming Final Series Most Valuable Player.[4] He later played the 2000/01 season in the Tunisian League[5] with the club Club Sportif Sfaxien.[4] He won the silver medal in the 2001 African Volleyball Clubs Champions Championship when his club lost 0-3 to the compatriot Étoile du Sahel.[6] His team lost to Étoile Sportive du Sahel Volleyball Club the Tunisian League Super Playoff and the Tunisian Cup.

In 1995 Soto debuted with the Senior National Team.[3] After being played for the Puerto Rican club Caribes de San Sebastián for the 2001 season, Soto signed with the Belgian club Noliko Maaseik.[7] With this club, Soto played the 2001–02 CEV Champions League, reaching only the quarterfinals[8][9] and the semifinals in the Belgian League.[10] He then played with Caribes de San Sebastián[10] topping the regular season scoring department with 550 points.[11]

Soto played with the Italian club Cagliari Volley from 2002 to 2006, winning the A-2 Championship in the 2004/05 season, the club was promoted to Serie A-1 the following season. He was awarded ASES Puerto Rican Best Male Athlete for the 2006 year.[12]

Soto played the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic were his national team ended up in seventh place of eight teams with a 1-5 mark.[13]

The Puerto Rican club Playeros de San Juan signed Soto for the 2005 season[14] and he also played there until the 2006 season.[12]

At 2006 FIVB World Championship in Japan, he became the Best Scorer of the tournament and helped his National Team to reach the 12th place. He ended playing for the Panasonic Panthers in the Japanese League in the 2006/2007 season.[15]

He was selected as flag bearer for Puerto Rico in the 2007 edition in Rio de Janeiro,[16] when he was the tournament's Best Scorer[17] and helped his team reach the fifth place.[18] Soto is nicknamed "Picky". Serving as the team captain Soto was named the tournament's Best Scorer at the 2007 NORCECA Championship, finishing with 104 points on 94 spikes, five blocks and five aces.[19][20]

On June 25, 2008, Soto announced that he would take part in a promotional campaign for Gatorade.[21]

Soto played the 2007–08 and the 2008–09 Russian Super League with Lokomotiv Novosibirsk.

Soto signed with the Turkish league champion club based in Izmir, Arkas Spor for the 2009/10 season with the hunger of winning a championship.[22][23] After winning the bronze medal in the 2009 NORCECA Championship,[24] Soto was meant to report himself to Arkas and was notified to the Puerto Rican Federation to do it[25] and received legal support by the local lawyer Fernando Olivero in the dispute with the club. [26] He later commented that he had to stay in Puerto Rico in order to help both his father and one of his brother that were ill at that time and that he felt exhausted after the continental championship.[27]

Soto joined the Puerto Rican club Mets de Guaynabo for the 2010 season.[28] He won with his team the Bronze medal at the 2010 Pan-American Cup.[29] He suffered an injury during the Pan American Cup and could not play until the playoffs.[30][28] He was not able to play the 2011 season because he went under surgery to repair an injury in his right shoulder.[28][31]

Coming from a shoulder injury, Soto joined the Puerto Rican club Capitanes de Arecibo for the 2012/13 season[32] after his contract was sold by Mets de Guaynabo[33] and was selected for the All-Star game.[34] But he suffered an injury during the match and was replaced by Erick Haddock.[35] He recovered to lead his team in scoring and being third in the league during the regular season.[31] And later in January 2013, helped his club to win the Puerto Rican league championship.[36]

Instead of rejoining his champion club, Soto announced that he would switch to beach volleyball.[37] He played the 2013/14 Puerto Rican league season with Arecibo[38] and was chosen to play the 2013/14 season All-Star game.[39] He helped his club to reach the final series, but they lost to Mets de Guaynabo the local Championship.[40]

He played the 2014 FIVB World Championship in Poland, reaching the 21st place after posting a 1–4 record in the pool play with his National Team.[41][42] Soto then played the Puerto Rican league, breaking the current scoring record of 5,151 set by compatriot Luis Rodríguez, setting himself the goal of reaching 6,000 points.[43]

He later won the 2014 Season of the Puerto Rican League Championship with Capitanes de Arecibo, leading his team with 16 points in the final match and securing a berth for the 2015 FIVB Club World Championship.[44]

He participated with his national team in the 2015 Pan American Games, were his team succeeded to reach the semifinals for the first time[45] but lost the medal hopes after losing to Brazil in the semifinals[46] and Canada in the Bronze Medal match.[47] At the 2015 FIVB Club World Championship held in Betim, Brazil, Soto's club participated as NORCECA representative and he served as team captain. His club lost 0-3 to Brazilian Sada Cruzeiro[48] and also 0-3 to the Russian Zenit Kazan[49] to end its participation in tied fifth place.[50] Soto then played with Capitanes de Arecibo in the Puerto Rican league, helping his club to claim the third place after falling to the later Champions Mets de Guaynabo in the semifinals, when he could not play because of a heel injury.[51]

Soto played the 2014–2016 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Cup trying to secure a ticket to the 2016 Summer Olympics in what he defined a last minute decision to close up his career,[52] but his team fell short losing to Cuba in the semifinal round.[53]

He was acquired via draft by the Puerto Rican club Mets de Guaynabo,[54] that was about not to play the 2016/17 season and do not play the pre-season tournament, Soto arrived to a club that decided not to include any foreign player.[55] The club won the Puerto Rican Championship for the second straight season.[56]

College

Attended Indiana University – Ft. Wayne, where he was a two time AVCA Division I First Team All-American (1999, 2000) and a Second Team All-American selection in 1998.

Clubs

Awards

Individuals

Clubs
  • 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

References
  1. Ribas Reyes, Fernando (2017-01-30). "Picky Soto tiene historia en Pepino". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  2. "Grandes figuras con la estrellitas de Activao". Noticel (in Spanish). 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  3. Rosa Rosa, Carlos (2015-07-26). "Héctor 'Picky' Soto continúa dejando su huella en el voleibol". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  4. Andino, Jessica Rosa (2001-06-09). ""Picky" Soto quiere jugar baloncesto". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  5. "Yamileska Yantin en ruta a Túnez". El Vocero (in Spanish). 2015-01-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  6. "ESS TV fête les 10 ans du premier sacre africain de la section !". ES Sahel. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2013-11-24.
  7. Ribas, Fernando (2001-06-23). "Pacta Soto con un equipo belga". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  8. "Team 2001-2002". Noliko Maaseik. 2001. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  9. Pagan Moreno, Humberto (2002-02-22). "Se eliminó el equipo de "Picky" Soto". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  10. Rosa Andino, Jessica (2002-04-17). ""Picky" Soto se reportará a tiempo". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  11. Ribas, Fernando (2002-07-17). "Picky Soto líder en anotaciones". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2016-04-06. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  12. Ayala Gordian, Jose (2007-02-01). "Lleno de orgullo el "Picky"". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  13. "Un súper abanderado". ESPN (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. EFE. 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  14. Marrero, Omar (2005-04-19). "Los Playeros de San Juan, centrados en lograr el campeonato". Primera Hora (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. EFE. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  15. "Con los brazos abiertos". ESPN Deportes (in Spanish). Carolina, Puerto Rico. EFE. 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  16. "Voleibolista internacional "Picky" Soto será abanderado P.Rico Panamericanos". Terra (in Spanish). EFE. 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  17. "Giba Godoy was the Most Valuable Player in Brazil". Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: NORCECA. 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  18. "Puerto Rico finished in fifth position". Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: NORCECA. 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  19. "USA Men Captured NORCECA Gold Against Puerto Rico". Anaheim, California: FIVB. 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  20. "NORCECA-M: Posiciones y premios individuales". Somos Voley (in Spanish). 2007-09-22. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  21. Ayala Gordián, José (2008-06-25). ""Picky" Soto estelariza campaña de Gatorade". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  22. "Puertorriqueño Soto jugará en Turquía". Medio Tiempo (in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  23. "Arkas'a Porto Rikolu pasör". Hurriyet (in Turkish). 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  24. "Puerto Rico wins the bronze medal in five sets". Bayamon, Puerto Rico: NORCECA. 2009-10-17. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  25. "¡Ultimátum!". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  26. "Olivero lo representa". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  27. "Héctor "Picky" Soto rompe el silencio". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  28. "Picky Soto: A darlo todo por Arecibo". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  29. NORCECA. "Puerto Rico defeats Brazil in bronze medal match". Archived from the original on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2010-05-29.
  30. "Positivos Arecibo con los viajes en los cuarto de final". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  31. "Héctor "Picky" Soto: cerca de su máxima expresión". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  32. "Héctor "Picky" Soto inicia un ciclo en Arecibo". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  33. "Mets de Guaynabo: una banda especial". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2013-01-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  34. "Cuadran los equipos para el Juego de Estrellas". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  35. "La Isla domina el Juego de Estrellas del VSNM". WORA-TV (in Spanish). 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  36. "Capitanes de Arecibo lograron el objetivo". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  37. "Rumbo a la playa: 'Picky' Soto se despide de la cancha". Noticel (in Spanish). 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  38. "Reforzados los Capitanes de Arecibo". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  39. "LVSM: Lares será escenario del Juego de Estrellas". Noticel (in Spanish). 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  40. "LVSM: Los Mets se coronan campeones nacionales". Noticel (in Spanish). 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  41. "Hector Soto". FIVB. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  42. "Mousavi put a final block on Puerto Rican ambitions". Krakow, Poland: FIVB. 2014-09-07. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  43. "Picky Soto rompe la marca de puntos de la LVSM". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  44. "Arecibo Captains become Puerto Rican Champions". Arecibo, Puerto Rico: FIVB. 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  45. "Voleibol Panamericano: Pase histórico de P.R. a las semifinales". Noticel (in Spanish). 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  46. "Double champions Brazil to defend Pan American crown". Toronto, Canada: NORCECA. 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  47. "Canada takes men's bronze medal". Toronto, Canada: NORCECA. 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  48. "Sada Cruzeiro thrash the hopes of Capitanes de Arecibo with 3-0 win". Betim, Brazil: FIVB. 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  49. "Overpowered Zenit Kazan move to semifinal over Capitanes de Arecibo". Betim, Brazil: FIVB. 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  50. "Sada Cruzeiro recover FIVB Men's Club World Championship crown". Betim, Brazil: FIVB. 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  51. "Mets pasan a la final de la LVSM". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  52. "No se quita 'Picky' Soto". El Vocero (in Spanish). 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  53. "Canada and Cuba go for the NORCECA men's ticket to Rio". Guaymas, Mexico: FIVB. 2016-06-26. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  54. "Mets inician defensa de su campeonato". El Vocero (in Spanish). 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  55. "Guaynabo confirma que jugará en el torneo de la LVSM". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  56. "Guaynabo es una potencia con base de dinastía". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
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