Kevin Silva can thank pre-teen baby fat for a move that helped turn soccer into a profession.
“I grew up as a striker actually,” he explained. “I was a bit chubby growing up so at the point when one of our goalkeepers went down, the next person to go in goal is always the chubby guy.
“I played the game, I really enjoyed it. From there, I was like ‘Yeah, I’ll be a goalie.’ It’s turned out to be a little blessing.”
Silva was 12 or 13 at the time. Today the 22-year-old from Bethlehem, Penn.