Tommy Musto’s unique route to the Portland Pilots

One of the most unusual letter-of-intent signing stories belongs to Tommy Musto, a soccer player who signed with the University of Portland.

He is a student at Hawaii Technology School, but never played in high school. Instead, he plays midfielder with the Rush Hawaii soccer club on Oahu, coached by Arian Hoxha. Musto trains at his home base in Upcountry Maui with his father, Carl.

A key to the process is being proactive.

“I think it is more important to go to camps at the colleges than to rely on your club. It’s mainly up to you to find a school,” Musto said. “I would recommend to do what is best for each person and do what they want to. For me, the most important thing is finding the best environment to train in, and that is training with my dad.”

Musto didn’t wait for opportunity. There’s an old saying: “If you’re good, they will find you.”

“False. You’ve got to do the work to get yourself in front of them. There is a lot of competition,” Musto said. “I emailed programs I was interested in, so I looked online. I would recommend to not rely on others to get you to where you want to go.”

Tommy Musto’s lockdown staples

Top 3 foods/snacks/drinks

1. Pasta

2. Steak

3. Pizza

Favorite class: History.

Time Machine

“I would just want to stay where I am, leave it a mystery.”

GPA: 3.79.

Major: “I plan to major in Business.”

Shout outs

“I would like to shout out my dad for coaching me my whole life and supporting me and my mom for all her belief and trust in me as well as constant support.”