BECOMING OUR HEROES

Kaopoon’s Journey to High School Soccer

We at the Agency pride ourselves on finding the right fit for all our athletes, whether at the high school or college, or even professional, level. And the funny thing for many of our athletes is that they don’t fully realize how close they are to being able to achieve their dreams. We hope to give them that final push they need to fully realize and achieve all they want to in the world of sports and beyond.

One case that comes to mind is Pootanet Petchtae (Kaopoon). Being born in Nakhon Ratchasima, he joined the loads of children who grew up in Thailand cheering on their local and international heroes on the television who played soccer. Though he never played sports for his school team, Kaopoon was fascinated by the sport and took it up seriously when he was 10 years old. At around this time, he noticed one player rise above all the rest in his application and technical ability – the Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski. Currently regarded as the best striker (and possibly best player) in the world at present, there is one thing that both Lewandowski and Kaopoon have in common: they both love to score goals for their teams.

While Lewandowski is scoring his goals on the biggest stages in world football, Kaopoon is on his way to doing the same. Currently at The King’s Academy High School in Tennessee, he notes that “the most important thing for me is scoring goals for the team.” To do so, he has had to overcome many obstacles. Among these is developing the discipline required to become a top level forward. Another is the continued drive and dedication to practice and get better. Even as he becomes a better player, however, Kaopoon reminds himself to stay grounded and coachable. And he continues to look up to Lewandowski, saying that “I would love to be like him one day.”

”น้องข้าวปุ้น”ภูธเนศวร์ เพ็ชรแท้ ศูนย์หน้าเยาวชนไทยแห่งราชประชา อะคาเดมี ยังคงตามหาความฝันกับการเป็นนักเตะอาชีพในอนาคต แม้สถานการณ์ “โควิด-19” จะระบาดอยู่ แต่เจ้าตัวต้องลุยต่อ ลุยหนัก เรียนรู้แบบตัวต่อตัวกับโค้ชสันติ บินกาซิม เพื่อการก้าวสู่ฝันให้ได้ https://fb.watch/660ppKw7-_/

เด็กคนนี้ไม่ธรรมดา​ ”น้องข้าวปุ้น”ภูธเนศวร์ เพ็ชรแท้ วัย​ 15​ ปี​ แห่งเมืองย่าโม​ โชว์เดาะฟุตบอลยาวนาน​ 5​ นาทีไม่มีสะดุด​ ไม่เชื่อก็ดูกันได้​ แต่เอาเข้าจริงเดาะได้นานกว่านั้น​ นับรวมๆได้​ 1,300​ ครั้งเลยทีเดียว

https://www.facebook.com/sfootballsiam/videos/828556567554279

Though his expectations for his experience in the US were low to begin with, just being desperate to find a school and program that satisfied all his needs, Kaopoon has found a lot of joy at TKA. However, just because he is in high school doesn’t mean he doesn’t have big dreams for his future. Among these was to play football in a foreign country, something you could argue he has already done by moving to the US for high school from Thailand. But he one day dreams of becoming a professional footballer, gracing the biggest stages in sport, and scoring goals just like his idol continues to do.

Of course, he thanks many of the people he has met along the way who have helped him in this mission to become a professional, among them his parents and teachers. But he also acknowledges the influence The Agency has had on his journey so far: “The Agency has taken me to new schools, countries, and experiences, all of which have only contributed to and heightened my desire for a professional career in soccer. Without them, I would never have found TKA in Tennessee or Rabun Gap-Nacoochee in Georgia, and I would not be developing into the player I am today. With their continued help, and my own training, I have high hopes of becoming a professional footballer who can score a lot of goals for whatever team I play for.”

Though those are big words for a high school soccer player, Kaopoon has done a lot to make it this far. We plan on helping him until he gets even further. Who knows? Maybe he’ll line up alongside a certain Polish striker one day.