Goal Keeper makes club pro team in D.C.

Sophomore Zacary Kelly shares his experience with D.C. United academy team

As a freshman,there was never a goal scored on him at our home field. But Holt Varsity soccer team’s goalie and sophomore Zacary Kelly traveled to Washington D.C. this summer after the coaches of the D.C. United Soccer Academy reached out to him with an invite to come to tryouts. The D.C. United Soccer Academy is a soccer team in Washington D.C. that is a private school with a professional team that has brought home four MLS (Major League Soccer) cup titles in the last 22 years. Playing for an academy means you participate on their sports team, but you also attend school at their school. Kelly has been a participant in the soccer family around Holt since he was around five years old. His current travel team is Rush Soccer. Through them, he was a part of the national Rush team and ranked number one goalie in the state, region, and country for club soccer in his age group. Playing for a high school’s soccer team is very different than club because you are seeing your teammates more than twice a week for practices and weekend for tournaments. “It builds a connection being able to see your teammates in the hallways and then on the field,” Kelly said about his current high school team. Kelly has close relationships with his teammates, both on and off the high school field. “He always is pushing you to do your best and never gives up on anyone...He always wants people to get better and keep working,” junior Captain Zachary Schray said. After a couple days of tryouts in Washington D.C., Kelly traveled home to Michigan to find out his hard work paid off. Kelly received an email that he was offered to go to the D.C. Academy school and a spot on the team as their goalie. With the excitement of this offer, Kelly soon realized this meant he would have to move his family to Washington D.C. and leave his current friends and teammates behind. Although it was an amazing opportunity, Kelly made the decision to decline their offer. “I didn’t really see myself being able to move and play there...It just wasn’t what I thought it would be,” Kelly said. Kelly plans on finishing another year here in Holt playing soccer and then possibly revisiting the idea of an academy school next year, but he’s still undecided. In the end, Kelly wants to end his soccer career after playing for the MSU men’s team. “I tried every sport when I was younger then I narrowed it down to what I enjoyed, soccer,” said Kelly