Dallas soccer player heads to Portugal

By SARAH HITE shite@mydallaspost.com

Zachary Holthaus could tell you about how excited he is to play soccer in Portugal this April – if he would put down his soccer ball for just a minute.

The dynamic 8-year-old of Dallas was recently chosen to play soccer as part of the United Soccer Training Academy to compete in the Mundialito Tournament in Portim�o, Portugal. The tournament will feature teams of boys from five continents and more than 30 countries.

Sue Holthaus, Zach’s mother, was more than a little surprised when she learned her son had won a coveted spot on the team.

The tryouts, held at the Wyoming Valley Sports Dome in Wilkes-Barre, last four hours and featured more than 400 boys kicking their way to the top of the pack.

Zach said the boys had to play scrimmages and perform drills, such as a three-person pass and defend, one-touch and two-touch passing and quick feet movement demonstrations.

Sue said the club needed two teams for the tournament – one team comprised of boys born between 1999 and 2000, and another of those born between 2001 and 2002. Four hundred fifty boys tried out; the USTA directors narrowed it down to 50, then 19, then just nine, which included boys from Ghana and Brazil who were previously chosen.

Sue thought the worst for Zach, who’s been playing the game since he was about 4 years old.

“There are just so many great kids out there,” she said. “I didn’t think he would make it.”

Just when the family’s hope was running out, a week later at a regular USTA practice, Sue got tipped off by the director of the program – not by her son, who learned hours earlier that he had been chosen to the team.

“(Zach) didn’t even tell me. He just went back to practice,” said Sue. “I thought that the fact that he’d made the tryout was a big deal all of its own.”

The family had a tough decision to make upon receiving the news. The Holthaus family had fallen on some hard times near the end of last year, and Sue was worried the family would not be able to afford the trip.

“It was a big decision to make,” she said.

Sue said she realized that Zach might not have another opportunity like this, so she and her husband, Ryan, decided to take the 3,500 mile trek to the country.

Funding is still an issue for the Holthaus family, so several fundraisers have been to offset the costs of Zach’s trip. Sue said it will cost about $2,300 for Zach to participate in the tournament, which includes airfare, hotel costs and tournament fees.

“We didn’t want to deprive him of this opportunity,” said Sue. “He might not ever get the chance to do this again.”

In addition to selling candy bars and lottery calendars at Thomas’ Food Town in Shavertown, Sue has set up a donation account at the Citizens Bank on Main Street in Dallas. The account is called the Zach for Portugal fund, and anyone can donate any amount at any time.

Financial worries aside, Zach and Sue are excited for the trip and have been preparing for their arrival in Portugal since they found out they were going.

Sue, who works at the Dallas Middle School, said the language teachers have been good resources for learning some key phrases she and her family may need while overseas.

“All I really need to know is, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’” she said.

The only member of the Holthaus family not planning to make the trip? Eleven-year-old Hollie.

“She doesn’t want to be hanging out with her parents the whole time,” laughed Sue.