The United States has been known to have a rich tradition of athletics. LeBron James, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Tiger Woods are a few of the athletes just in our lifetimes that have brought people together. Whether you root for these individuals and their respective teams or not, they all have one thing in common. The play for Team USA. Their place on these teams doesn’t just depict their acceleration in their sport, yet they set a standard of excellence and hope for the youth in our society. The United States has been blessed with so many great athletes and teams that has placed us on top over many other countries. We currently have 2,827 Olympic medals, the next highest is 1,204. We excel; however, there is an elephant in the room. Soccer. A sport that continues to get heat from our country’s fans criticizing their inability to compete on a high level that our other sports can. This is changing all because of of one kid and his hunger to inshore relevance in American soccer.

Let me introduce to you Christian Pulisic.

Just a 20 year old kid from my hometown, Hershey, Pennsylvania, who at a young age became the face of the franchise. His journey to this current day of stardom in the soccer world is unusual, filled with lows and highs, and of course, it is far from complete. In middle school Christian played for an academy team called the Pennsylvania Classics where he thrived despite playing years above his age level. He was soon called up to the U-14 national team. From there he left his home town of Hershey to attend boarding school along with the U-17 team in Florida. It wasn’t long before a German club, Borussia Dortmund, signed him to their U-17 team. A few months later, Christian was called up to their U-19 team dspite being 16 years old. A few months after turning 17 years old Pulisic made his debut with the professional team. A month later he made his debut for Team USA. His progression to fulfill his dreams was fast, yet he has endured a lot of heartbreak in such a young career.

This 17 year old kid was about to be introduced to the world. He was about to show America that he was the answer to make a run in the World Cup. They never made it. In the last world cup qualification game USA lost to Trinidad in a 2-1 upset which prevented Team USA entering the biggest stage in soccer. Christian was visibly shattered post match and will have to now wait until 2022 to make his World Cup debut. More low points in Christian’s career have followed. After being bought out by Chelsea, Pulisic was benched because of of the manager preferring other players. Two weeks ago Pulisic was seen crying on the sideline after being benched by Team USA. Despite the recent setbacks, this past weekend Christian was given the chance to start for Chelsea. Despite receiving hate from Chelsea’s fans about his early disappointment, Christain proved them wrong. In his first start he scored 3 goals, something an American player has never done in the Premier League. They called him “Captain America” and if his perseverance and success continues, he’s going to take the world by storm. Bring on 2022.

Christian may have never stepped foot in my high school due to leaving in middle school; however, Hershey is where he calls home. His Twitter bio reads “Just a Kid from Hershey.” Although he just turned 21 years old last month, his net worth is $58 million dollars. You would never be able to tell. His humble roots and gratification for his friends and family were not once hindered by his fame. During his breaks he returns to Hershey to teach soccer to Hershey kids who aspire to be just like him.The hometown Hershey Chocolate Factory endorsed Christian and revealed his impact on the community with a commercial. Although it’s going to be a tough road for these kids to ever match his talents, if they strive to be the person he is, this world would become a better place. With that I proudly say that I too, am just a kid from Hershey.