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Eintracht Braunschweig U-23 team. Castro can’t sign a professional contract or play with the Division I first team until he turns 18, on Feb. 17, 2014. “He’ll have an opportunity to play professionally as soon as he turns 18,” Rossiter said. “Playing professional soccer has always been his goal.”
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During a City Commission meeting July 8, Plant City Mayor Mary Mathis declared 2013 the Year of the Youth. Vice Mayor Rick Lott was asked to find a youth who demonstrated outstanding ability. He selected Castro. “I’ve known Omar for eight years now and have watched him grow from a boy to a young man with a dream and a vision,” Lott said. “It’s always great to recognize someone, when all their hard work pays off. That’s something that you want other young people to see: that if you are dedicated and work hard enough, dreams can come true.” Under Castro’s current agreement with Eintracht Braunschweig, once he turns 18 and is eligible to play for the Division I team, a donation of 25,000 euros (about $30,000) will be made to the Lancers’ program for the first game he starts and after every 10 starts after the initial start. The deal also allows the Lancer’s to send two Plant City players, with all expenses paid, to Germany once a year for training and eligibility to be signed, if they demonstrate a high enough quality of play. Castro is currently overseas preparing for the U-23 season, which begins in August. Castro will be continuing school through Florida Virtual School and graduate next year. He holds a 3.9 grade-point average. “He’s had to make many sacrifices to get where he is, but he has excelled in everything he’s done and should be an inspiration to all of us,” Lott said. Castro’s biological parents came to the United States from Mexico 20 years ago and supported their seven children by working the strawberry fields in Plant City. Castro received a love of soccer from his father, Jesus. All of Castro’s brothers played, and he has a cousin who plays for the Indios, a professional team in the Mexican League. Because of a poor financial situation, Jesus Castro asked
Rossiter if he would open his home to Omar. Rossiter became Omar’s legal guardian seven years ago. The two families remain close, and Rossiter’s son, Samuel, is even married to Omar’s sister, Idelisa. “When I was approached about it, there wasn’t really a thought process,” Rossiter said about becoming Omar’s legal guardian. “I was happy to do it, and we’ve built a great relationship. He is still very close to his family, and his dad is still very active in his soccer.”
ON THE RADAR
Castro’s talents and pro potential have been identified for several years. It wasn’t ever a question of whether he would play professionally — but rather, when. “He is just very dedicated and passionate about the game,” Rossiter said. “He doesn’t have a Facebook or any social media. He doesn’t text. When he isn’t playing, he’s doing research on other football clubs.” Castro had been on the U.S. National Team’s radar for years and has worked out with FC Barcelona, one of the world’s top clubs, and the Dutch club Vitesse. He left July 8, for Germany. It was his 30th trip away from home for soccer. “We’ve always let him travel alone on trips, so he would get used to being independent,” Rossiter said. “Even where he is now, his biggest challenge is being away from home and his family.” Playing professionally was always a goal for Castro, and playing for Barcelona one day would be a dream come true for the 17-year-old. When he was 16, he was already represented by a professional agency — ExtraTime Football Consultants, based in Barcelona, Spain. In May, Castro helped lead his U-17 Lancers team to the FYSA’s State Cup Final Four. It was the first time since the U-18 boys in 1997 that a Lancers team participated in the tournament. Just two months later, Castro is thousands of miles away from Plant City, playing under a German soccer club with an opportunity to play professionally in seven months. “I talk to him as often as I can, and he seems happy and in good spirits,” Rossiter said. “For him, he’s not concerned about everything going on. He’s just playing the sport he loves and is having fun doing it.” Contact Matt Mauney at mmauney@plantcityobserver. com.
KNIGHTEN/PAGE 11 cornerback. But when Zamir had an opportunity to carry the ball, he didn’t disappoint. In just 13 carries on the season, he scored eight touchdowns, all on runs of 60-plus yards. “That was probably the moment that we saw how much potential he had,” Timothy said. Zamir is still one of the smallest players on the field, but that doesn’t hamper his performance. In December, Zamir helped lead his 10-year-old unlimited Plant City Raiders to a United Youth Football League national championship. “Oak Leaf was the biggest team I’ve ever faced,” Zamir said about the Jacksonville-based Black Knights. Zamir’s team won that game 26-0 and also picked up wins over the Newark (N.J.) Bears and Homewood Flossmoor (Chicago) Jr. Vikings in the championship game. Big-time colleges and NFL teams featuring undersized players, especially at running back and defensive back, has been a trend in the past several years. Zamir admires Oregon running back De’Anthony Thomas (5-9, 181) and former West Virginia standout and current St. Louis Ram Tavon Austin (5-9, 174). “It’s not something I think about or am worried about,” Zamir said about his size and being hit by bigger opponents. Zamir, who will be entering the sixth grade, will play for the Turkey Creek Trojans this fall. Timothy started him in youth
MAUNEY/PAGE 11 pitcher Chelsea Baker. Baker, 16, has made a habit of striking out boys on the mound and received a contract to play professional women’s baseball in Japan last year. She turned the offer down but says she is considering playing overseas after high school instead of for the United States women’s baseball team, which doesn’t play a full season. So the question becomes this: Is this the right move for these young stars? College is important, but I can’t say I would turn down a million-dollar contract to play pro baseball after turning my tassel at high school graduation. If things don’t work out, and the athletes are careful with their finances, college is still a realistic option down the road, compared to student loans and other alternatives.
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a big decision. It’s a decision I couldn’t imagine making when I was 17 or 18. I had a hard enough time deciding what to eat for dinner or what to do on the weekend. Ultimately, it should be the athlete’s decisions, even at 18 or younger. Parents, coaches and friends can and should be consulted, but these decisions will affect the athlete down the road, so it is his or hers to make. The decisions certainly carry considerable risks. Professional sports is a business. If you’re not performing, a team likely will send you packing — even if that means eating money and cutting their losses. Still, the positives often outweigh the risks. I wish nothing but the best to local athletes that are getting a jump-start on a pro career. If it’s the right opportunity, go for it.
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Contracts obviously vary by sport. Japanese women pro baseball players make about $35,000 to $50,000 per year. So, having money be the only factor wouldn’t be fair. For the athletes themselves, sometimes the opportunity itself is just too good to pass up. Danish seemed excited to be a Florida Gator after leaving Durant, but going as high as he went in the draft made the decision to turn pro easier. Danish is off to a strong start in Bristol and could make his way up to “the show” before he would have been eligible to be drafted again out of Florida (after his junior year). If Baker goes to play in Japan, she likely would be the first American to do so. Castro likely will be one of a select few Americans good enough to earn a European soccer contract. Tuning pro at a young age is
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After Zamir returns July 26, from Oklahoma, he will participate in a Offense-Defense Combine, in Orlando, to qualify for the middle school division of Team USA for the USA-Canada All-Star game. In his short playing career, Zamir already has garnered a lot of national attention. He even has a recruiting profile on the OffenseDefense website, o-d.com. College recruiting has transcended far from just juniors and seniors in high school. Football
players as young as the seventh grade can be actively “recruited” by colleges and even can commit verbally as a middle-schooler. Timothy said Zamir constantly has coaches and scouts telling him that he’ll play in the NFL one day if he “just keeps his grades up.” “I try not to let him focus on stuff like that, because it can make or break these young kids,” Timothy said. “It’s hard to hide from it, but you don’t want a kid to feel like he’s already made it and then is devastated if something bad happens. “It can also have the reverse effect for some kids, making them want to be the best player they can be before they enter college, but it still makes me nervous,” he said. Zamir said he would like to play for Oregon, both because of their style of offense and their “cool uniforms,” but said he doesn’t really care where he ends up going, just as long as he has an opportunity to play. As for high school, Timothy hopes Zamir plays for his alma mater — Plant City High — where he was a standout, before he played in college in Virginia. If Zamir becomes a standout in high school and college, his 6-year-old little brother, Timothy III, or TK3 as he’s known, may not be far behind. “At 6, he’s a lot more advanced than Zamir was at that age,” Timothy said. “Being around his big brother has helped a lot. Just like Zamir, I want him to have fun with it and let him adapt.” Contact Matt Mauney at mmauney@plantcityobserver. com.
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football in Lakeland because of the league’s “unlimited” rule, with no weight requirements or restrictions for teams. “I wanted him to get used to playing and getting hit by bigger players,” Timothy said. “I tried to instill the training in him, and I just want his mindset to be focused, so once he gets to high school and college, he will already have that strong work ethic.” That work ethic doesn’t just pertain to football. Zamir is an A-B student who cites math as his favorite subject. Although he will play for the Trojans this fall, where he will attend middle school is still up in the air. Among local options such as Marshall and Tomlin, Lakeland Christian also is a consideration. Lakeland Christian offers middleschool football, while local public schools do not. Lakeland Highlands Middle is another option. Although it doesn’t offer football, it has a competitive travel basketball team and track team, along with top-notch academics. “It’s all about his mindset right now,” Timothy said.
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