Many kids grow up dreaming of one day being able to wear the home colors of their country in the Olympics. Eric McWoods is now on the path to recognizing that dream.
This past summer, Eric, junior, was selected as one of the top 18 players in the 14 Midwestern states. These 18 players together form the United States Youth Soccer Region II Boys Olympic Development Program Pool Team. The team competed from Dec. 6-9 in the US Youth Soccer NCAA Interregional games in Alabama. Eric was recognized as being one of the top 10 players out of 80. Eric was one of only four players from the state of Missouri, and he realizes that being selected was a honor.
“It’s a proud feeling knowing I made it,” Eric said. “Everybody there was amazing, and I learned so much.”
In a Kirkwood School District press release, Ellie Singer, Region II Administrator for the program, agreed that being selected is a major accomplishment.
“Eric will be observed now and in the future for possible selection to the United States National Team,” Singer said. “Some of these players have gone on to win Olympic Gold Medals in 1996 and are represented on the FIFA Men’s World Cup, 2006 and 2010 Olympic and National Teams.”
Roberta McWoods, Eric’s mom and girls’ varsity track coach, believes his success is a culmination of many years of hard work.
“He has played since he was 5 years old and for him to still be interested and have done so well for all these years is remarkable,” Roberta said. “The thought that one day he can play on the National or even an Olympic team would be an opportunity of a lifetime.”
According to Eric, there have been several advantages to playing in the development program. He said a great tool has been the coaching from former professional players, some who played in Europe and Brazil.
“The players are all top-notch,” Eric said. “It forces you to go out and play even harder.”
Eric says a huge benefit of participating in the Olympic program is the exposure. Many college coaches attended the tournament in Alabama. Several Division I program representatives, such as from Duke University, contacted him during the tournament. It is not just colleges from the United States that are interested.
“He received an invitation to play at the University of London after graduation,” Roberta said. “He would play semi-pro and go to college and get some European experience.”
Although Roberta does not want Eric to go that far away, she believes the offer is still quite a feat. She said there is a strong possibility that Eric will play professional soccer. He is not too concerned with it at this point.
“Yeah that would be tight,” Eric said. “But it doesn’t really matter because college is the main focus right now. After that we’ll just have to see what happens next.”
