Pesicka headed to Europe for pro tournament

Playing pro soccer has always been Bohdan Pesicka’s dream, and in a few weeks he’ll have the opportunity to do just that in Europe thanks to an invitation from Pro Soccer Consulting (PSC) Soccer Academy. 
Born and raised in Custer, Pesicka has been playing soccer since he was 6 years old. He started at the YMCA and later was part of the fight to bring the soccer program back to the Custer School District. 
Pesicka was even the creative mind behind the “Who Let the Dogs Out” annual fundraiser for the school soccer program. 
“He had a lot of community support with that one,” said his mom, Valerie Warner. 
Over the years, Pesicka has played indoor and outdoor soccer and was part of several clubs like the Amistad Soccer Club. During his senior year of high school, Pesicka was asked to be a kicker for the Custer High School football team as well. 
Pesicka was also invited several times to join the South Dakota United (SDU) soccer team. SDU was founded by coach Chris Derry in 2003 as a way to help small town players compete on a regional and national level. Through the program, Pesicka traveled through a five-state area, playing in tournaments in places like Las Vegas, Chicago, Denver and Kansas City. 
“That was an amazing experience, being able to travel all over and a lot of great coaching. Some hard times, but it was good. I mean, anything that’s good has some hard moments,” said Warner. “That took us all over as a family.”
While in high school, Pesicka was named the team’s most valuable player, made all-state first team and made Black Hills Conference All-Conference for soccer. 
Pesicka said his favorite part of soccer is just being out on the field and enjoying the game. The hardest part, he said, is the teamwork the game takes. 
“You gotta have teamwork to really make a good team. So making sure communicating on the field would probably be the most difficult part,” Pesicka said.
When reflecting on his athletic career, Pesicka said his favorite memory was a game at the Sioux Falls Dome. 
“I hit the ball really hard and just hit it up the upper 90, and it bounced between the poles. My coach, like, actually bowed to me because he was very impressed,” he said. 
Warner’s favorite memory was from Pesicka’s younger days on the field when he was playing through the YMCA under the coaching of Vaughn Ziolkowski and Jeff Barnes. The team was down by two or three points when Pesicka kicked the ball. It hit the wall and went right into the garbage can. 
“The whole auditorium erupted, and it was amazing. That’s probably one of my favorites,” Warner said, adding that it was really cool because she didn’t expect everyone to respond with so much enthusiasm. 
After graduating in 2024 as a home school student, Pesicka moved to Watertown to play for a club soccer team. Then, he discovered an opportunity to participate in a pro tryout through the PSC Soccer Academy Florida Pro Tryout at the IMG Academy. 
“It’s always been a dream of mine to make it pro. So once I saw the thing for Florida, I wanted to do that. So I went down there and played. It was a three- game ordeal,” Pesicka said. 
For the three games and scrimmages, Pesicka worked with semi-pro and pro soccer coaches. 
“They record all of it, and then they go over film, and they individually go through every single player and do stats. So they sent me an email and did stats, like ‘We think you did good on this. We think we need work on this,’” he said.
Along with the feedback, Pesicka received an invitation to join an Elite European Travel Squad in Denmark and Sweden for a pro tryout opportunity. 
“It means everything, honestly. It’s once in a lifetime. I feel very honored,” Pesicka said. 
Pesicka flies out July 29 for a two-week trip. Upon arrival, a bus will take him to the hotel. 
“In the email, it says that they treat them just like a pro, like they’ve already made it. I think they do that because they want to see how the guys interact with each other, their demeanor on and off the field. So they’ll pick them up, take them to the motel. They have practice right away. They start practicing at six on (July 31), so we want to try to get him there a couple days early to acclimate. Then, they eat together, and they completely act as if they’re already on the team,” said Warner 
There will be 60 to 70 pro coaches there watching the athletes, and Pesicka will have the opportunity to play against pro soccer players during the tournament. There will be at least four games. 
Although Pesicka feels great about the soccer portion of the trip, he said he is a little nervous, having never been to Europe. 
“I’m not really too sure what to expect,” he said. 
Upon returning home, Pesicka will have to wait a few weeks to learn the results of the tournament and whether or not a pro coach wants to sign him on to play. 
“He’ll have the ability to go right to pro, which is amazing and scary and wonderful and sad because he’s going to be half a world away,” said Warner. 
Ever since Pesicka was little, whenever he was asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” he has always said, “I want to play soccer.” 
“It was always that,” said Warner. 
Now he has the chance to make his dream come true, but it does come with a price, which is why Pesicka and his family are asking for financial support from the community. 
All things accounted for, Pesicka’s European pro tournament and tryout opportunity will cost about $8,000. 
To help raise the funds, there will be a benefit for Pesicka at the Custer VFW July 11 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
“We’re going to have a fish fry that night,” said Warner. “We’re going to do a silent auction. Some people have already donated money to him, which has been amazing. We’ve already got some items coming in for the silent auction.”
In reflecting on what got him this far, Pesicka said some of his most memorable soccer coaches were Vaughn Ziolkowski, Jeff Barnes, Amanda Hewett, Sydney Witt, Hannah Rehmeier, Chris Derry, Eric Reynolds, Justin Fischer and Jamie Watts. He also wanted to thank his family. 
“Thank you for helping me get this far,” said Pesicka. “And thanks to my parents for everything they have done for me.”
To support Pesicka’s once in a lifetime opportunity, contact Warner at 406-927-2716 or beautifulsoul.valerie@gmail.com.