Got this from a 247 free article, but it's the first time I've seen this before with such a highly rated player (number 3 player in VA's 2016 class)
EDIT: Not originally from VA, a fork union kid. but holds a VT offer
http://247sports.com/Article/Four-star-recruit-opts-for-soccer-31095515
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Why give up one for the other? At Virginia Tech, he can do both. Isaiah Ford is a good example.
the seasons for men's soccer and football overlap
they are both played in the fall at the college level
It would not surprise me to see this happening more often, as serious head injuries and scandals become more prevalent in Football. Kids with serious skills in other sports might start looking to them as a primary goal. Soccer is gaining more $$$, as is basketball and baseball so this might bethe way of things in a few years...
There are more concussions in soccer than in football.
I beg to differ, I just think football is more willing to let the kids keep playing
I disagree. With a limited number of subs and the way the game of soccer flows, it's more enticing IMO to leave in a concussed player than in football. For example, I watched a man get knocked unconscious in the World Cup and he stayed in the match.
Just a couple weeks ago I watched my beloved Arsenal continue to play a guy who had what looked to be a concussion. Then they took him out about 10 minutes later. So I'm with you on that part.
I haven't seen any numbers but I'd find it hard to believe there are more concussions in soccer than football though.
Not trying to be a dick, but there is absolutely no chance that this is true. There are probably multiple minor concussions every game in football along with the occasional major one. As someone who watches 3-4 professional soccer games every weekend, I would say that I might see one minor concussion a weekend.
My team is Tottenham and we had a very well-publicized concussion last year when our keeper got kneed to the head. That was the only concussion any player on our team experienced the whole season. As a contrast, I think there were 2-3 players who got tested for concussions in last night's Ravens game.
This is related to high school sports, but the point remains
There's also this from a Canadian researcher:
Good stats, HokieHI.
During my entire soccer career, I only had one thing that I now know was a concussion, and it was given to me by some jerk who slammed his elbow into the back of my head on a corner kick.
I still don't know who it was, but if I found out I'd still feel fully justified in hunting him down and returning the favor. By and large, in my experience in soccer, you mostly have to try to give someone a head injury, while in football it seems more likely to happen on accident. Competing on a header or being on the ground are the only times I can legit see a soccer player being in danger of head injury.
Or if your name happens to be Petr cech
GO SPURS!
Also, I agree. Soccer players don't wear helmets so when they two player's heads collide, it is more likely for a concussion, but that doesn't happen nearly as much as in football. Helmets mitigate the damage but repeated collisions add up and lead to many more concussions.
However, I don't believe this player is choosing soccer based on concussion risk. It says he is also a very highly rated soccer prospect. Maybe his top choice just isn't a football school. Good luck to him. Hope to see him playing for USMNT one day. A 6 foot 4 inch speedy striker? Talk about dangerous potential.
Give the kid credit, he was just in Spain this past Summer for a Barcelona camp and the longevity of a soccer player's career far exceeds that of a football player. He's also a decent basketball player too so it sounds like he's just an all around athlete. Also, it only says that he's playing soccer instead of football this season, not giving up one for the other. If you ask me, he probably looked at it and saw that he could still attend camps and get recruited for football since he already has several big time schools interested in him while playing a sport where he's less likely to get injured and can improve his overall conditioning. Not a bad decision, but still an interesting one.
I would advise my kid to do this, if I had one
I did exactly this. After one season of flag football during which my son had a blast and did well at QB, i told him that he would be sticking to soccer and b-ball rather than moving up to tackle football next season. I told him that if he still wanted to play football when we was 13 or 14, we would discuss at that time. After seeing stories of kids like Kalvin Cline that sucessfully picked up football at an older age, I don't think it's necessary for him to sustain all the hits he would take over the next 5 or 6 years.
Let him play rugby. All the fun of football, none of the stopping, silly pads, or stupid tackling techniques (hard to use your head as a weapon when it's not encased in a helmet).
I can't wait till a good number of top american athletes play soccer. We will be in the world's elite at a sport that other countries actually play
Once the almighty dollar eventually takes hold of the sport in the US, there won't be much stopping us from becoming a legitimate top world power in soccer. The single biggest reason we're not a Tier 1 soccer nation right now is that there's just too much money elsewhere for our athletes. With football's reckoning coming (I really don't give the sport much longer than 30 years at its current rate without some drastic overwhelming changes, that will gut its popularity) and the popularity of the USMNT exploding over the last decade or so, that day when $$ finds US Soccer might not be that far off.
Yep, count me in as someone who's really happy to see this happening.
Hate to say it, but soccer is weird in that if you go to college to play, you are already behind the curve for being an elite player.
Can't fault the kid for doing what he loves.
If he is that good at soccer, he could probably make more money in Europe or elsewhere as a professional that he could in the NFL. Those guys in the top tier in Europe make loads of cash.
European soccer teams don't have salary caps. And MLS has three slots to pay people outside of the salary cap. Clint Dempsey, an above average player, is making about $6.7 million this year while Demaryius Thomas, an above average WR, will make about $3.3. Dempsey will likely have a longer career, make more money, and have better health throughout his life.
also demaryius thomas plays once a week while Dempsey could play 2 games a week maybe even 3 depending on the season/year
Add in endorsements that you can get worldwide rather than just US/Canada. Also do players get paid to play for their national teams?
no they do not..
Oh yes they do. Ghana just about went on strike at the world cup because their country didn't pay them on time.
Mesut Ozil donated a lot or all (can't remember) of his to kids living in poverty.
Granted, compared to their regular salaries from their clubs, they aren't making a LOT. But they do get paid by their Football Associations.
I feel like I did the math on Ghana when that story broke and it was around $400,000 per player if they all had an equal cut. That's just off the top of my head with numbers the press was throwing around, but I'd take that.
Edit: it was between $75,000-100,000 per player. Still not bad for a month.
Dempsey is a proven veteran at the sports most glamorous position and is one of the best 5 players in the nation. A better comparison would be to Peyton manning, who makes ~19.2million a year plus endorsements.
I'm looking at their place within the sport as a whole. Soccer is worldwide while football is played basically in two countries. I would compare Peyton Manning to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi who both make $40+ a year plus endorsements. I used Thomas only because this kid is WR.
That might be true, but comparing averages might be better, as Dempsey is a top player in the us, and most of those guys have been playing professionally since a very young age. I was going to write the stats down, but this sums it up
In addition, should mention the number of players per league (to get idea of how easy it is to get in)
NBA: 439 players
MLB: 1280 players
NHL: 1500 players
NFL: 1696 players
MLS: 570 players
Average premier league player made 1.6M ($2.6M) in 2012-2013 season:
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/312907.html
And how many Americans make it to that top tier? How many that don't start professionally by the end of high school? The fact that he isn't already signed (not even to a feeder league) means he may be good, but not enough to make a major euro team that could pay him all that much.
The money in euro soccer per week is too good, plus 6'4, 215 is what soccer teams are looking for these days. Plus, the potential to earn even before he is 18, sounds like the decision was made in the spring
If soccer doesn't work out in the next few years, he can always come back and play football. Many past players (even Heisman winners) went into the minor leagues for baseball, only to come back and play college football. I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do it too.
Wish college football was my "plan B" if my dream didn't come true...
Yup. Ndamukong Suh says he played soccer when he was younger. Seemed to work out when he switched to football
Back when I was in high school (Highland Springs HS, class of 2009), we had a massive/jacked (for his age) defensive tackle who started on the varsity football team as a freshman. He also played the trumpet. The HC made him choose between the band and playing football his sophomore year, and he picked the band. Blew my mind, but I have a lot of respect for him pursuing his passion.
That's what my dad did in high school, except the coach wasn't an idiot and thought it was great that a kid had/wanted to develop multiple talents. Ended up an all-section lineman and part of the all-state honor band.
Wait! I have an idea!
Let's offer him a soccer scholarship.
One soccer, please!