SAN ANTONIO — There is no pressure for Cameron Vear to become a soccer player. It’s all about his comfort level. He’s a four-year-old who just happened to have one heck of a first game.
“I was nervous for him,” Mark Vear said.
Mark is Cam’s father. He’s a 36-year-old basketball coach who is from England. And, yes, he has a deep connection to football, or soccer, as we call it in the U.S.
He said there is no pressure for his youngest to play soccer. In fact, last year when he and his wife tried to introduce Cam to the game, their little boy ran into the nearby woods.
“He turned away and looked to the woods and felt that would be more fun,” he said. “So, that's what he did.”
Cam joined Cornerstone Youth Sports. The Christian-centered sports league gives boys and girls from 4 to 12 a chance to play sports. Mark and his family watched from the sidelines.
“He’s flying around. He’s being aggressive,” Mark said. “First goal goes in. Second one. Third. Fourth. “
It wasn’t until the match was over they realized the 4-year-old scored 22 goals. His father was beyond proud. “I don’t think I’ve ever scored 22 goals in a season. Let alone a game,” he said.
Cam’s uncle put together a sizzle reel of his nephew’s highlights.
“I like scoring and passing to my friend,” Cam said.
Mark posted the video on social media and tagged a few sports news giants. The goliath of sports networks responded. ESPN asked Mark for his permission to use the video. Of course, he said yes.
The father of three had no idea his son was on ESPN until the text messages started coming in to his phone. Cam made it on the network’s ‘Highly Questionable’ program.
“Sorta soccer. I mean it’s not really soccer,” Mina Kimes said.
Kimes is a seasoned senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. She and the others on set appeared annoyed during the entire clip of Cam’s performance. Kimes though also seemed to question the legitimacy of Cam’s performance as great.
“I mean there’s no goalie,” Kimes said. “Are we really gonna give him credit?”
Mark and Cam’s San Antonio community exploded. In fact, Mark had Cam record a clap back video where the youngster told Kimes, “I going to score 40 next time.”
Highly Questionable played what producers deemed as a ‘Cam-Back’ the very next day. Kimes caved into the cute factor. “To be clear. I was not hating on the kid. I was hating on having to watch 22 goals on national television,” she said. “He’s very cute.”
Cam is unbothered by any of the attention. He is, after all, a four-year-old boy who also likes Power Rangers and basketball. But his father is evaluating his talent.
“I see some talent for sure,” He said. “He moves like a football player.”
Mark’s family has already declared Cam may turn out to be a better player than his father. Cam followed up his opener with an average of 14 to 15 goals a game, Mark said.
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