When Lake Orion resident and 2004 Detroit Country Day graduate BJ Goodman started playing travel soccer nearly 10 years ago, he never dreamed the sport would be his ticket to a nearly free college education.
Goodman, 18, has played for the Vardar soccer team since he was about eight years old, when he was encouraged to try out by Ron Kalso, owner of Global Soccer in Lake Orion and father to Goodman’s best friend and fellow Vardar player, Keane Kalso.
‘I started playing soccer when I was five years old,? said Goodman, the son of Randy and Becky Goodman of Lake Orion. ‘My mom signed me up for it, so I could meet kids after we moved into our new house.?
Goodman took a liking to the sport, and will be able to continue playing at the collegiate level, having earned an 85 percent scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
‘I started with the Orion/Oxford Soccer League, and then Keane was going to try out for Vardar, so his dad thought I should too,? Goodman said. ‘He had me try out, and he encouraged the coach to take me.?
Goodman has played soccer year-round since then, playing with Keane on the same Vardar team.
?(Keane) is going to be playing at Western,? said Kalso. ‘He and BJ have played on the same team for 10 years. The time they did play against each other, it was a classic match up. They always seemed to match goal-for-goal.
‘BJ plays 100 percent all the time,? Kalso added. ‘He’s been like another child to me.?
Kalso said he had to do some convincing to get Goodman’s dad to agree to let his son play Vardar Soccer.
‘My dad was a football player,? Goodman said.
‘I had to convince (Randy) it was a good thing,? Kalso said. ‘Now that he’s going to college, some of that investment is paying off.?
Goodman is undecided about exactly what he’ll study at Wisconsin, but he is sure about the school.
‘Their coach, I love, and the campus is unbelievable,? he said. ‘The team is really young, and they’re going forward.?
As he prepared to leave for school the week of Aug. 16, Goodman said he was ‘excited, and nervous at times.?
‘I’m sure once I get there, I’ll be fine,? he said. ‘My parents will be able to come see me play, they’ve only missed a total of like three games between the two of them, all the years I’ve been playing.?
Goodman has two older sisters, Sarah and Beth, neither of whom play soccer.
‘I’m the only one in my family (who plays),? he said.
‘He will do awesome,? said Kalso. ‘I know some of his teammates too. BJ will play as a freshman…He can play anywhere he wants.?
Goodman said for a long time it was just him and Keane playing for Vardar from the Lake Orion area, but now the sport is taking off.
‘It’s definitely a big sport in this town,? Kalso said, having owned Global Soccer since 1997.
Older son Kellen Kalso, who now plays for Michigan State University, played for Vardar and played for the national team with the residency program in Florida.
‘That’s something I’ve always wanted to do,? said Goodman. ‘I’d love to keep playing…I just want to do really well in college.?
Kalso said a lot of the kids who are getting scholarship offers for soccer have come out of the Vardar program.
‘It’s at a more competitive level,? Kalso said. ‘Wisconsin will be a force to be reckoned with in 2005-06.?
Goodman will play outside midfield for the Wisconsin team, and said he would someday love to play in the Olympic Games.
‘If I had the choice, I definitely would,? he said.
‘It’s political, it’s talent and exposure,? said Kalso of those chosen for Olympic soccer.
‘You’ll definitely get exposure in Wisconsin.?