Nick Lima's rookie season is off to a dream start

Nick Lima loved to score goals. That's a trait shared by pretty much all soccer players but especially forwards, which is the position Lima played growing up. That love led him all the way to Pac-12 power California, but it didn't take his college coach long to see a different future for Lima – one that would be centered more around preventing goals than scoring them.
                                 

When Cal head coach Kevin Grimes told Lima he saw a future for him at right back, Lima wasn't sure the switch was a good idea. When he saw the possibilities, though, Lima jumped in with both feet and now, less than four years later, the change has helped him realize his dream of playing as a professional for his hometown San Jose Earthquakes.

"It was hard to grasp at first, but it only took a few days to understand why he did it," Lima told Goal of the position change that shifted the course of his destiny. "Kevin Grimes is a phenomenal coach and a smart guy and I was up for the challenge. It took a couple of months, but by the start of my sophomore year I had embraced it. Obviously the skill set, and getting comfortable with the position takes a while. I'm still learning. There's still stuff to learn every day, especially when you make the jump to the next level."

Lima's lengthy history in the Earthquakes academy didn't stop some MLS teams from disputing San Jose's homegrown claim in an attempt to have Lima made available in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Those disputes were ultimately tossed out, paving the way for San Jose to make Lima the second homegrown player signing in team history, joining Tommy Thompson.

So what has Lima enjoying such a smooth transition to the pros? Earthquakes technical director Chris Leitch, who signed Lima last fall, and who spent 10 seasons playing as a right back in MLS, sees a player with all the qualities to be an elite-level player at the position.