By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

When evaluating Isan Roberts as a sophomore, the Kent Roosevelt boys soccer coaching staff knew they had something special.

He played with enthusiasm to match his skill and knowledge of the game.

And they trusted him.

All players, though, are seeking a sign of validation that they belong.

A moment that can prove that they have arrived.

Roberts checked that box on Sept. 10, 2024.

On that night, when the Rough Riders hosted Copley, Roberts scored a hat trick to lead his team to a commanding 5-1 victory.

Each goal pumped more and more confidence into the veins of Roberts, who has continued to play like a phenom ever since and was named team captain this season.

Each goal also still sits fresh in Roberts’ memory.

The first came after he received a through ball, toe poked it past an aggressive goalkeeper before he tracked it down and punched it home.

The second goal, which Roberts said is still one of his favorite goals of all time, came after the Riders’ defensive wall deflected a Copley free kick near the 18. Once the ball found Roberts’ feet, he dribbled to the attacking 20, taking on three different defenders along the way, before he buried his shot in the bottom left corner of the net.

Then, the hat trick almost never happened.

“There were only 3 or 4 minutes left in the game, and I heard on the sideline that I was about to be subbed out,” Roberts said. “I knew I had to push for my third goal.”

He got it.

Another through ball set him up, allowing him to get behind the defense. When the goalie left his line, Roberts used a dribble move to get around him, then pushed the ball across the goal line.

“That gave me such a good feeling,” Roberts said. “It was a confirmation for me that I not only belonged on the field, but that I could be a real leader. I wanted to feel like that after every game.”

It was a positive feeling that Roberts needed to refill his heart.

Not that he ever doubted his skill, but it was another step in his emotional recovery to the sport.

In the off-season after his eighth-grade season, Roberts had surgery on his left knee to correct a condition called osteochondritis.

It is a joint condition in which the bone underneath the knee cartilage dies due to lack of blood flow. For Roberts, it caused his kneecap to painfully slide out of its natural position on a regular basis.

As much as he didn’t want to be sidelined by the surgery, Roberts said he knew it was the key to him being able to play healthy moving forward.

He remembers the surgery date: Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.

“Oh, I hated that day. I still hate thinking about it. I hated it so, so, so much,” said Roberts, who plays left wing, but also will rotate to play center back sometimes. “At the time, it felt like such a huge setback. I felt like I was going to have such a long way to go to catch back up with everyone. I guess, in a way, it motivated me once I got healthy again, but to have to miss as much soccer as I did, I just hated it.”

It was the longest he had gone without playing since he first started kicking a ball around his house at the age of 2.

Since his parents did not play soccer, that ball he started kicking around the house was not even a soccer ball. It was just a random ball, but Roberts’ heart was set on kicking it and so his soccer career began.

“All I know is that I have loved the game ever since I can remember,” Roberts said. “I have been really lucky to have great coaches, community support, and I have played with a lot of my current teammates since we were little together.”

It is all part of a soccer culture and community that has been established in Kent through its players and the involvement of head coach Garyn Daniels.

“Being a family, that is our identity,” Roberts said. “We are a strong family, and we break our huddle out with that every time. We all care about each other, and we all know that we have each others’ backs. No matter what. We know that we are going to show up with a ready mind to compete and that we are going to do it together and it feels special to know that we have that kind of culture within our team.”