Avoiding the Drop

This one's for you, Michigan fans: Devin Barclay with the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2001

It’s perhaps a fitting commentary on the state of soccer in the United States that this weekend – when MLS had two well-fought semifinal matches and the national team was playing a less well-fought friendly against Slovakia – the most recognizable soccer player was not Landon Donovan or Kyle Beckerman, but an amateur (per the NCAA, at least) player plying his trade in a completely different sport. That was the situation on Saturday, however, when Ohio State’s Devin Barclay kicked a 39-yard game winning field goal that sent the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl.

Barclay’s path to the gridiron was far from typical. Back in 2001, (when he was 17), Barclay was an MLS Project-40 player. He skipped college and entered straight into the draft (along with classmates Edson Buddle and Eddie Johnson), where he was selected by the Tampa Bay Mutiny. After being sent for training with Liverpool (where he trained under Michael Owen) and Tottenham, Barclay enjoyed some time with the national team at the U-18, U-20, and U-23 levels; his crowning moment was probably when he played for the U-20 team in qualifiers for the 2003 U-20 World Cup.

After the Mutiny dissolved, Barclay became something of a journeyman. He played for San Jose, DC United, and Columbus; when the Crew cut him in November of 2005, he found himself without a team and with only one real skill: the ability to kick a ball well. He enrolled at Ohio State in 2007, and walked on as a kicker with no scholarship.

Barclay’s story is redemptive, but it’s not unique. In fact, former Buckeye kicker Ryan Pretorius was also a latecomer to gridiron; having travelled from his native South Africa to England, France, and Spain as a professional rugby player, Pretorius also ended up finding a home in Columbus as a placekicker for Ohio State. Similarly, both of these players are following in the tradition of Pete Gogolak, Garo Yepremian, and even former U.S. national team goalkeeper Tony Meola (as well as dozens of others I don’t know about): all former soccer players who eventually became placekickers in the NFL.

What’s always been startling to me, frankly, is why this doesn’t happen more often. On Saturday, I watched a goal kick from Chicago Fire keeper Jon Busch go from the six yard line to the opposing eighteen. We’ve seen good keepers punt from their box straight into the opposition’s box with a little wind at their backs, yet kickers and punters in the NFL regularly struggle with the most basic of kicking duties.

The fact of the matter is, that should NEVER be the problem. Internationally, there are thousands of academies designed to scaffold field vision, intelligence, fitness, and discipline on top of the most basic of all soccer skills: kicking the ball. Take all of those other traits that make a good player away and you’re still left with a guy who can kick; since that’s pretty much the only skill an NFL kicker needs, the fact that the 32 NFL franchises can’t find one guy who can kick consistently and one who can drop kick consistently represents a remarkable lack of creativity on their part.

It also represents a lack of marketing savvy by some former MLS players, however. According to the September MLS Salary report, the aforementioned Busch earns $135,000 a year. That’s a pretty hefty salary by MLS standards; only five players make more than him on the Fire’s roster. Should Busch decide to switch his allegiances over to the Bears, he’d earn a minimum salary of $310,000…plus, he’d have the months of January (he’d be playing for the Bears) through July completely free. Instead of making about $5,000 a game, he’d be making about $20,000…and he’d only have to do like one or two things a game.

Of course, he’s not playing football because he loves soccer; that makes sense. At the end of the day, though, former MLS players who can’t cut it in soccer should really try networking with NFL teams; they’re likely to be about as good as what the team already has, and I’m sure they’ll be cheaper.

Still Kicking: Devin Barclay Transitions From Major League Soccer to Ohio State Football [Chicago Now]
Pro soccer’s loss is Ohio State’s gain [Lorain County Chronicle-Telegram]
Pretorius’ journey lands Ohio State kicker on biggest stage [USA Today]
MLS Weekly Newsletter – December 4th, 2001 [CNN-SI]
2009 MLS Player Salaries [MLS Players.org]