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AGE: 25 |
As the soccer preseason started earlier this year, Dykstra learned that he had been released from his contract with the Chicago Fire. Stunned but not bowed, the goalkeeper immediately explored his options, including the possibility of playing in Germany. Until he lands his next gig, the Roscoe Village resident plans to stay in Chicago and train in Palatine, where guys from another league work out. “I’m doing everything and anything to stay in shape,” says the Virginia native. “There are good things to come—just when and how, not if.” Dykstra, armed with a master’s degree in sports administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, seems prepared for a second act after his soccer career is over—but he hopes that day won’t come anytime soon. According to him, field players can have careers into their late 20s and early 30s. “But goalkeepers can go into their early 40s,” he says. “My goal right now is to play as long as I possibly can.”
Photograph: Maria Ponce