Tuesday August 5, 2008 In his second season of USL Premier Development League competition with the Royals, Mike Foss, defender and journalist, has logged over 550 minutes this season, and over 900 minutes with the 2007 squad.
Foss got his start with the Super Y-League’s ODP system in January of 2007 where he was competing for a spot on the SYL Select Team. Revealing his interest in journalism during the camps, Foss began writing for USLSoccer.com after he joined the Northern Virginia Royals Premier Development League team as an 18-year old later that season.
In the early summer of 2008, Foss again stepped up the U.S. soccer ladder by earning an invitation to train with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. In just a year-and- a-half Foss has successfully climbed from the Super Y-League’s U17 level to MLS. He was most recently a member of the Royals Super-20 League side that battled, and fell to a strong D.C. United side 2-1 at the North American Finals. This is the fourth edition of From the Inside for the 2008 season.
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To say July has been eventful for me would be a gross understatement.
It began with my final game with the Premier Development League Royals, a 2-1 win over Fredericksburg on Wednesday, July 2. It ended with the Super- 20 League Royals at the North American Finals playing my former youth club, D.C. United for a spot in the semifinal.
In the middle of the month, I left the Royals to train with MLS team, Real Salt Lake. It was an indescribable experience. Ok, that’s not true, but I can describe the entire experience in one word – intense.
Everything about my time there was intense. The altitude – intense. The training – intense. The practice gear – intense. Warm up’s were even intense.
Playing with RSL brought into focus exactly what it takes to play at the professional level. I also realized that the next two years will determine if I will continue to progress in the game. To play professionally is an opportunity very few players get to experience and playing with RSL confirmed how precious an opportunity it is.
I am in a slightly melancholy mood as I write. The Royals fell to D.C. United 2-1 [Saturday] in the Super-20 North American Finals. It is slightly poetic how things ended for me. I started my Super Y-League career playing for D.C. United and I ended it playing against D.C. United. It was a great game to end on.
Six years ago, while I was playing for D.C. United’s U14s, we beat the Northern Virginia Royals 12-0. This year, the U14, U16 and U17 Royals teams have all qualified for the Super Y-League North American Finals in November. No one can argue the progress made by Nova FC.
Another summer is winding down and preseason for George Mason starts in a week. This has been my sixth season playing in the USL system and after each year I always leave with a little more experience and a few more bruises. The season never goes to plan; sometimes the season goes better and sometimes it goes worse, but most of the time it just catches you by surprise. There is a lot to look forward to next year.
