For Zak Boggs, life is about seizing opportunities, whether they’re presented in the world of academia or soccer. This philosophy led to his surprising decision to leave the New England Revolution in 2012 to accept a Fulbright Scholarship and study medical sciences at Leicester University. Having now earned his second master’s degree, Boggs has returned stateside and awaits his next opportunity, hopefully in the world of soccer.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
Finding a Balance
Boggs had an active childhood while growing up in West Virginia as he participated in soccer, basketball, Boy Scouts and more. The talented youth earned a US Junior Olympic Taekwondo gold medal for sparring in 1995 and West Virginia’s state marble shooting championship in 1997. Through all of this, his parents helped keep him grounded and focused.
“I played soccer and a lot of other sports just like any other kid growing up,” Boggs remembers. “My parents always stressed studying or getting my work done every night before practice or before I would go out in the backyard and kick the ball around.”
Although he had many interests, Boggs found true love with soccer. Soccer was a year-round sport for him and he often attended summer camps as a way of honing his skills. A camp through the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida was particularly useful since it brought new opportunities.
“I got a flyer in the mail one year for an IMG three-week intensive camp and when I was like 15 or 16 I went. The coach saw me and said he had a scholarship for me if I wanted to come back. I stayed down in Florida and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Despite moving away from his parents, Boggs maintained the balance between academics and soccer. During his senior year, Boggs was named a high school National Merit finalist while helping the IMG team to a nationally ranking of eighth.
After graduation, Boggs returned to West Virginia to attend West Virginia University but transferred to the University of Central Florida ahead of his sophomore year. A second transfer occurred in 2007 when he relocated to the University of South Florida. The balance remained intact throughout the movement and Boggs was named BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the same year that USF captured their first BIG EAST Championship.
“I transferred two times through undergraduate and I was still able to graduate early and get my undergraduate degree. My coach at South Florida was great and he wanted to keep me on for my final season so he offered to pay for my master's degree.”
Boggs’ time at USF attracted the attention of Revolution head coach Stevie Nicol, who selected the forward in the 2010 SuperDraft with the 31st overall pick.
Boggs retained a full schedule while playing for the Revs. As he fought for a starting position, the Ohio-born player worked towards finishing his master’s degree at Suffolk University while volunteering at the Children’s Hospital at Boston. Volunteering was particularly important to the Eagle Scout.
“I had always done volunteering growing up through Boy Scouts or whatever else I was doing. So I just kind of continued that throughout college and I wanted to continue that when I got to the Revs. What a better place than the Children's Hospital?”
Even when he became a more consistent cog in Nicol’s system during the 2011 season, Boggs continued to volunteer.
“It was a little bit more challenging to find time to go. All the traveling made it a little more difficult. But it was definitely a priority of mine to stay going to Boston Children's. It's an unbelievable place.”
The time at the Children’s Hospital led to the 2011 Humanitarian of the Year Award while helping unlock his next opportunity.
Making a Decision
Boggs had recently suffered an injury when he received news that he had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study medical sciences at Leicester University. The offer forced Boggs to reconsider his priorities. He had re-signed with the Revs in 2011, but the injury, coupled with his uncertain role under new head coach Jay Heaps, made the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity more lucrative.
Like many positive things in Boggs’ life, the Fulbright Scholarship opportunity presented itself through USF.
“Before I had left USF, I was actually a Rhode Scholar nominee and that scholarship didn’t work out, which was fine because I was playing professional soccer. They came to me at the end of 2011 and said, ‘we have this other scholarship opportunity that you would be perfect for but there is just one caveat: you only have two weeks to submit everything’.”
Despite the short time, Boggs decided to apply which eventually led to being offered the scholarship. The good news meant that an important decision would have to be made. Boggs was optimistic about the coaching change since Heaps brought a new energy and seemed open to playing him in a more advanced position. An unfortunate preseason injury and the growing number of new faces joining the team made Boggs wonder about his future.
“I immediately told the management and the coaches at the Revs (about the scholarship opportunity). I was pretty upfront with them. They seemed to be pretty happy for me because they saw me working with Children's. They saw me every day at the gym trying to come back. It was a frustrating time for me and I think they could see that because I was at the stadium all of the time rehabbing.”
After their initial discussion, the Revs offered to buyout Boggs’ contract. The third-year player wasn’t impressed with the gesture which led to friction.
“I wasn't for it. So it made for kind of tense times and over the next couple months I definitely took that into consideration whether I would accept that Fulbright or not."
In the end, Boggs decided that the opportunity to study abroad was too attractive to pass up. The decision made sense to Boggs but not to all of his teammates.
“It’s not well understood. Some of the guys were happy. I had some friends on the team, like Stephen McCarthy. He didn't understand why I would do it but at the same time he was happy for me. Then there were guys like Matt Reis. When I told the team he was just smiling and nodding his head. He knows what I'm all about.”
Looking for the Next Opportunity
The decision to accept the Fulbright Scholarship provided Boggs with a great education and lasting memories, but it also damaged his soccer career. The then 25-year-old was labeled as “retiring” by the media which was far from the truth.
“It was interesting because before I left I was labeled as retiring. I have some theories as to why that label was put there but it certainly was not put there by me. I had no intention of stepping out of the game and I certainly haven't. I played all the time. I played more in England then I did in my three years with the Revs.”
Fully immersed in a culture that embraces soccer, Boggs found it easy to get touches on the ball. He called himself a “missionary for soccer” as he joined any available match. During the frigid winter, Boggs took his game inside and played futsal, a game that he said he learned a lot from.
“The weather was so bad in England this year, especially where I was at. The pitches would freeze. It was ice. It was unsafe to play. People would just run and slip. So January until probably mid-April there wasn't too much outdoors so it was all about futsal.”
Remembering the value of balance, Boggs trained with some Conference teams in the hopes of playing professionally again. This proved to be difficult, however, because of the complicated process associated with getting a work permit.
“I think you see that now with some of the transfer that happen. Sometimes they need some references or something. You have to have certain amount of games with the national team and whatnot. It's difficult to get a work permit and that kind of permeated throughout the pyramid of English soccer."
Although he couldn’t play professionally, Boggs learned a lot while in England. He returned to the United States in May and immediately began training at the IMG Academy. Boggs understands that returning in the spring was less than ideal but he remains confident about linking up with a new team.
“You just reach out to as many people as possible and I definitely hope that come January I’ll be in preseason with an MLS team. In the meantime, I’ll definitely be playing somewhere, whether it’s somewhere in the states, which there’s not a lot of league operating right now, or somewhere else.”
Boggs received some motivation when friend and teammate Blair Gavin was signed by the Seattle Sounders while playing with IMG. After going to high school together, the two reunited in Bradenton with a common goal.
“We were able to come together in a kind of a similar quest, if you will, to get back into it. I know that he had a good lengthy trial and it sounds like Seattle really took care of him. It's awesome. I'm so happy for him. It's galvanizing because I'm ready to do the same thing.”
Boggs, who has had some intriguing offers after playing in the PDL and trialing with NASL teams, is looking for his next opportunity and when he gets it you know he will make the best of it.
For more information about Zak Boggs visit www.ZakBoggs.com or following him on Twitter (@ZakBoggs).
