Junior Micaiah Paice has the future of his dreams right in the palm of his hands. Frederick High School is home to one of the most hard working students Micaiah who has created such a great atmosphere for himself. From recently choosing to graduate early this year to going to travel to another country for soccer his story isn’t ending there. Micaiah has played soccer from a very early age and has chosen to pursue it ever since. “Soccer has always been a big passion of mine and I’ve always wanted to pursue it. I think what makes soccer different from other sports is how popular it is throughout the whole world, and how unique it is.” 

Micaiah has focused on becoming the best soccer player he possibly can be and going to another country is just the start of what he’s going to accomplish in his near future. 

“My soccer journey started with my dad introducing it to me at a very young age and I’ve always been raised around it. I would say that my dad has pushed me the most to become the best player I can be along with my little brother who looks up to me and I don’t want to disappoint him”

Graduating early hasn’t always been the plan for Micaiah. Since his freshman year he has been in Fredericks P-Tech program and was initially planning to go through with that until the amazing opportunities arose. After graduating this year Micaiah plans to play for a professional club in Europe. He says, “I have a few clubs in England that have offered me trials along with one in Sweden and Norway.” With the one in a lifetime chance came about he took no time but to snag it. 

“I am very excited to go play in another country but also very nervous. I think the most challenging part would be leaving my family at the age I am and not having the support system close to me that I’ve always had growing up.”

Graduating early isn’t always everyone’s first choice but he seems to be very excited about the chance. “What makes me most excited about graduating early is being able to play soccer full time and focus 100% of my time on this sport. Also being done with school. I’ve never enjoyed school at all.” But being optimistic to get his chance at what he’s always dreamed about makes it all worth it. Constantly you can see him being a leader on and off the field. Keeping the mindset he has is the #1 thing that he can do to always stay optimistic and to be able to keep doing what he’s doing because you don’t see it happen very often. Although he is accepting the fact he’s going to another country he still has to leave people and things behind. “I will miss my friends the most after graduation. While they will all be enjoying their senior year together I will be missing my senior year.”

But he wasn’t just born with the raw talent he also has to put in the hard work and hours. Even after the rough constant change in the soccer program coaching wise it’s never stopped Micaiah from doing what he does best and that’s just playing good soccer. Nothing holds Micaiah back from getting what he wants when he wants it. After being asked what he’d say to someone who wants to do something similar to him he said, “Be consistent with your training and train a ton. But also meet new people and create a big network of people trying to achieve the same goal as you. Travel to different parts of the world and meet friends, coaches and mentors you can always reach out to. Networking is one of the most important parts. It opens so many opportunities for you and it’s what has opened these opportunities for me.”

After being given such an opportunity like this at such a young age it’s hard to decide whether or not to go through with it because it could be the decision that makes or breaks your future. But, that’s never bothered Micaiah because he’s taking this opportunity head first with no hesitation at all. Knowing what you want to do after graduation is something that very often high school kids struggle with but for him it was like turning on a  lightswitch because he’s always known that his love and passion for soccer isn’t just going to end.