Lebanon High School sophomore Michael Reece has established himself as one of the top football players in Southwest Virginia thanks to his cannon of a right arm. He also happens to be one of the area’s premier basketball standouts as he possesses the ability to take over a game and can play all five positions.
Not bad, huh?
Well, check out how a guy they call “Mr. Energy” is spending his spring.
He is not only playing soccer for the first time, but he is manning the goalkeeper position and doing an admirable job.
Giving a new sport a shot, he is now stopping shots.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Reece has posted three shutouts and 65 saves for the Pioneers (6-5-3) entering Tuesday’s Southwest District match at Tazewell.
A recruiting pitch from Lebanon soccer coach Ethan Trent led Reece to the soccer pitch.
“Coach Trent has been asking me to play since last year and I thought it would be great to participate in a spring sport,” Reece said. “I have never really played before, but I have been to a lot of soccer games in the past two years.”
However, Reece isn’t just playing to pass the time and hang out with his friends.
Like football, he takes futbol seriously.
“What impresses me about Michael the most is his obsession to be good at whatever he does,” Trent said. “He watches film, asks questions, is very coachable and will put in the reps.”
How much has Reece improved?
“It’s night and day from the first scrimmage until now,” Trent said. “He has learned when and when not to come off his line and get to the 50/50 balls.”
Reece turned in his most impressive performance last week in a 1-0 victory over rival Virginia High.
“He made some big saves in the Virginia High game that allowed us to end up eventually winning,” Trent said. “But what stood out to me as his coach is that he just is finally starting to look comfortable out there.”
The play of the defensive unit, Reece between the pipes and a goal by Carter Dillon led to the win.
“It felt great to beat a quality team like Virginia High,” Reece said. “It was an amazing night, and I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates. The goal at the end that Carter scored really stood out to me because it showed how hard as a team we worked for that win.”
Lebanon suffered some heavy graduation losses, but guys like Dillon (13 goals, nine assists) and Emmitt Breeding (six assists, three goals) are four-year starters and catalysts. Landon Hess (19 goals, eight assists), Maddox Nuckols (nine goals, seven assists) and defender Hunter King have played well too.
Meanwhile, Reece has been a reliable rookie.
“Soccer is really helping my feet and agility skills that will help me with quarterbacking and it has kept me in great shape,” Reece said. “Overall, soccer has been a great decision and I think all athletes should give it a try.”