Kye Van Someren is trying to build his brawn to go with his brain on the soccer field. That”s because the Caledonia High School defender sees the game as a full-contact sport.
Van Someren stands above the other soccer players at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, and he”s working on his upper body strength as a tool for his playing prowess.
So he does the regular bodybuilding exercises for his chest and arms — bench curls, pullups, mixed martial arts, and anything else that comes his way.
“I”ve got a friend who has been working with me on MMA,” Van Someren said. “It really helps me be stronger.”
MMA is a full-contact combat sport that allows a variety of fighting techniques and skills, including martial arts and non-martial arts, to be used inside an enclosed ring, where fighters win by earning a knockout or a submission.
“MMA shows me the right ways to work out,” Van Someren said. “Being bigger and stronger is a big advantage because I don”t get run over as much as other guys. Soccer is full-contact sport to me because I am always trying to stop the other guy from scoring.”
Van Someren, 18, already has an attitude and aptitude for soccer. His performance earned him a spot in the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star Game at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 in Clinton. The game will climax a busy month for Van Someren, who will sign a scholarship to play soccer at Itawamba Community College when the season winds down.
“He is really strong on whatever position you ask him to play,” said Jason Forrester, Caledonia High athletics director and girls soccer coach, who coached Van Someren for two years. “Kye is the kind of player who has a nose for the ball and understands the game.”
Van Someren and Caledonia (10-3) will take on Amory at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a Class 4A-District 4 matchup. The game was scheduled to be played today, but snow and cold weather forced the match to be moved.
Van Someren, who has been playing soccer for 13 years, was drawn to the sport because “it just looked fun.” After he grew to like it, Van Someren honed his skills and has developed into a smart player.
“I watched him play four years,” said first-year Caledonia High boys soccer coach Kevin Kugel. “He is a very good central defender. He holds down the defense and is a very smart kid. When I need him to do something tactically, I only have to tell him once and he goes out and does it.”
Forrester said Van Someren has been one of the Confederates” best players. He was named the team”s best defensive players the past two years.
“He is one of the better players we have had who will play in this (All-Star) game,” he said. “Looking at some of the players who have played soccer at Caledonia, they will tell you he is one of the best players we have had from here.”
Kugel said Van Someren”s size and strength might attract attention, but his speed gets him noticed.
“His strongest suit is his speed,” he said. “I know if we make a mistake on back line, I”m confident in our running defense and confident he”s able to run the guy down.”
Kugel admits Van Someren”s large presence is imposing, especially for opponents.
“Like all sports, you wonder what the big kid will do,” he said. “I remember playing baseball and seeing this big kid pitching. But when you get up to the plate, he throws a knuckleball and you realize he doesn”t throw hard. Kye is different.”
Kugel said Van Someren doesn”t fit the usual mold of a soccer player, but that doesn”t diminish his skills.
“When I coach, I don”t look at a player by size and weight,” Kugel said. “But he does stand out that way.”
Van Someren also has an advantage — he”s left-footed.
“It is an asset,” Kugel said. “Some people will read it one way when he has the ball, and he goes the other way.”
Kugel said Van Someren works well with the Confederates” central midfielders, but he might have one weakness that isn”t unusual in young players.
“Sometimes he has trouble deciding when to play the ball and when to play the person,” Kugel said.
Van Someren sees the All-Star game and his move to ICC as the next steps in his soccer career.
“When I start playing JUCO, I hope I can get into a DI, DII, or DIII school and see where that takes me,” he said.
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