A generalization often thrown out about American soccer is that of all the other sports in America it produces some of the smartest and most well-rounded athletes. As far as generalizations go, that’s a pretty good one to have in your back pocket.

Zak Boggs, one of the Rowdies most recent signings, takes that stereotype to another level. At 28 years old he is a Fulbright Scholar who earned a master’s in Cancer Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Leicester in the UK in 2013. Before that he earned two degrees from the University of South Florida, a bachelor’s in Biomedical Science and a master’s in Marketing.

On top of that he is one of the best attacking players to come out of USF in the past decade. He impressed so much in college that the New England Revolution drafted him into MLS in 2010 and he remained there for three season before to leaving to accept the Fulbright scholarship. After completing his studies in the UK a return to Tampa Bay with the Rowdies makes all the sense in the world to Boggs.

“The studying was awesome. It got me a whole different look at kind of what I actually started when I was at USF, when I was working at Moffitt and Shriners. I wanted to get more of a hands on approach in the laboratory with cancer research and I was able to do that in Boston,” said Boggs. “And then came the opportunity to take the Fulbright and go study in England. So it just interesting how everything has fallen into place. It seems like things have come full circle with me back in Tampa Bay.”

Putting his soccer career to study wasn’t the easiest decision but Boggs says that despite some erroneous reporting at the time of his departure from New England he never intended to retire from professional soccer.

“That’s never how I approached it. That’s just unfortunately what was said for a number of reasons that I’m still not quite over, but you just gotta move on,” said Boggs.

So Boggs focused on his studies while maintaining his passion for soccer, eventually developing a love for futsal when harsh winter months forced him inside to play on dubious old AstroTurf. He even scored 32 goals for the University of Leicester’s futsal team in 2013.

But Boggs finally made his return to the US and professional soccer last year with the Charlotte Eagles in the USL, scoring 3 goals in nearly 30 performances.

“Definitely. Even though I probably played more over there ( the UK). It’s just good to get your feet wet in a professional environment,” said Boggs on whether last year was about knocking rust off. “So I’m just grateful for the opportunity that I had last year in Charlotte, but I’m glad that I’m able to move on and step up to Tampa Bay.”

A fortunate bit of serendipity lead to Boggs coming into Rowdies camp. He attended high school at the IMG Academy in Bradenton and has made a habit of returning to IMG in his off time, he even made a handful of appearances for IMG’s Premier Development League team in 2013. While there this winter a coach informed him that Farrukh Quraishi and Thomas Rongen had been brought in to run the Rowdies. Boggs had already lined up a few opportunities elsewhere but was intrigued by the possibility of playing under Rongen.

“And then he said they’ve got a tryout coming up. So I was just like give me more, give me all the information you have. Then I got in contact with Thomas and he said yeah, come in and we’ll take a look,” recalled Boggs. “Things just started falling into place and I was like, wow I would absolutely love to be back here. So I’m just so happy and relieved to be here.”

Despite first being an invite-only combine player and then a trialist, Boggs believes that he and the rest of the new additions are already progressing nicely when it comes to coalescing.

“All the guys that were at the combine jumped right into the first training season. So the first day that the guys were actually on the field, we were there too,” said Boggs.

Along with the early start to training this year Boggs believes that the Portugal trip accelerated the chemistry building process.

“It was really good to settle in the same place with everyone. We could just walk right out of our rooms and go right to training and we ate all our meals together. So it was great to get that sort of rhythm going. We played a lot of games. It’s always good to get minutes in those situations and just grow in confidence. That’s what it’s all about gradually building into the season,” said Boggs.

Enthusiasm for the new season is something that Boggs and the rest of the team do not seem to be running short on. The level of professionalism being brought to the club isn’t lost on any of them. Boggs acknowledges the tangible investment of money that is evident in any number of ways but also suggests a more abstract buzz that is giving everyone a little more pep in training.

“Coming back here and seeing everything that’s been going on, the excitement is great. Obviously there’s the financial investment but I think there’s more than that. There’s just an excitement that I think all the guys can feel,” said Boggs. “Certainly that comes from the top down so that’s really what is awesome to be a part of. Every day to see that and to see different things happening. You know we just went on the new practice field today and it’s unbelievable to see how quickly that’s happened. To have our own gym. To have the resources that are available to us like with the yoga, the different physical trainers, and certainly with the expertise of the coaching staff. It’s truly awesome to be a part of.”

Zak Boggs is the exact kind of player that the Tampa Bay Rowdies need as their move into this new era. A hungry player, with immense talent and potential, who is also eager to get involved with the community. He’s already taking steps to continue his work in cancer research now that he’s returned.

“I’ve already reached out to a couple of people at USF. I’m not sure exactly of the what or where yet, but I’m sure that I want to get involved with a hospital somewhere. USF is awesome I have so much love there for USF, but if it’s somewhere else like All Children’s Hospital here in St Pete, or Tampa General or whatever, I’m down. I really want to get involved,” said Boggs.

A club showing commitment and investment in the community through the front office can go a long way towards ingratiation. Players showing a similar engagement through their personal lives can be just as effective, if not more so.

IMAGE, TAMPA BAY ROWDIES