For Tony Kleckner, it is all about soccer.

A junior on the Whitehall boys' soccer team, Kleckner has been surrounded and engulfed by soccer since he was first able to play the game at the age of five.

This season, however, Kleckner was ready to take his game to another level with the Zephyrs, who, despite missing the district playoffs, discovered a sense of new life under first-year head coach Chris Bastidas.

"I think we [played] pretty well," said Kleckner. "There were some games where we just couldn't finish, but we have been winning the games we should win. There is a new feeling with this team and it really reflects on the coach.

"He (Bastidas) is always pushing us and telling us it is all about winning. He has really pushed us to reach the best of our abilities. We just need to constantly work to play better. But that has never been a problem for me.

"I just love to go out there and play as much as I can. Aside from school, soccer is basically all I do."

Kleckner recalled how he began playing at five for Tri-Boro and ironically for former head coach Gus Garcia. He also credited the guidance of former coaches Bill Schopf and the late Lou Ramos, both of whom have been very influential to his current state.

"Those guys really taught and showed me the game," said Kleckner. "I love those guys and I would do anything for them. I owe a lot to them."

From Tri-Boro, Kleckner moved on to the Lehigh Valley United Academy when he was 10, and has been a mainstay there ever since. He also has worked on certain parts of his game.

"I really appreciated what I learned with Tri-Boro, but I felt I wanted to go to Lehigh Valley United," said Kleckner. "I have been playing there and I really love it.

"I knew I had to work on my passing and moving the ball with my non-dominant foot. I also realized that I had to start listening to people if they were criticizing me because they were actually trying to help me.

"It was a matter of me maturing as a player and a person."

Bastidas easily sees his player's dedication and will.

"He (Kleckner) works very hard," said Bastidas. "He may not be the player who is always scoring goals, but he does all of the little things you need on the field. Tony has really developed his game over the years."

Kleckner would welcome the chance to play soccer in college, but he does want to stay in some sports capacity. His ideal situation would be to pursue an athletic trainer's career at the University of Pittsburgh.

Until then, he plans to keep working hard at the sport he loves and hopefully get Whitehall to the next level in the coming season.

"We felt like we learned something from both games," said Kleckner. "We lost the Emmaus game at the end. We feel like we have something to prove and we want to go out and show it."