(Photo courtesy of dcunited.com)
So for about two hours last night, D.C. United U-18 Academy midfielder Patrick Foss was on the front page of nytimes.com.
Before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, this is one of those cases where it's not what it looks like. The US youth national teamer's soccer accumen wasn't actually the focus of the article. Rather, Foss seems to be in the middle of a fight in Virginia over whether or not home-schooled students should be allowed to play varsity sports for their local public schools.
This is more than a case of a jock trying to game the system, because apparently Foss is really smart (second paragraph). Other than that, though, I can't really offer an opinion because I know almost nothing about Virigina public schools, and it's an inherently complicated issue.
What piqued my interest was the fact that Foss wants to try out as a kicker for the local football team.
At 5-foot-10, 155 pounds, I have my doubts as to whether or not Foss has a career in football. As a player who has been to US Soccer's Residency Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and who is less than four months removed from a start with D.C. United's reserves, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he'll have a career in professional soccer. I get that kickers don't get hit that much, but why take the chance of getting hurt?
That said, Foss is 17. He deserves to be able to have fun and be happy. If football can help that come to pass, more power to him.
