[AWARDS] Christian Metzler, who earned second-team all-state honors as a goalkeeper at Pope John Paul the Great HighSchool in Dumfries, Va., despite being born without a fibular bone that left him with no lower right leg from the knee down, was named the winner of the inaugural Inspireum Soccer Awards and awarded a$7,500 scholarship.
The program honors individuals who display incredible character, courage, contribution and commitment, and who serve as an inspiration to their teammates, peers andcommunities.
Metzler was selected the most inspirational player out of over 250 young men and women who were nominated.
“He is successfully juggling a demandingschedule with his high school commitments,” said Pope John Paul the Great coach Henry Montague. “His athletic achievements are clearly noteworthy, but aretruly remarkable for an athlete with only one God- given leg. Christian is the consummate inspirational leader of other student-athletes and is most deserving of this award.”
Metzlervolunteers at the Walter Reed and Bethesda Medical Centers, helping amputees and injured servicemen as part of the Wounded Warrior Program.
“I hear many others say, ‘If he cando it, why can’t I?’” says Metzler of his work at Walter Reed.
Three runners-up will each receive a $2,500 academic scholarship: TaraMcNaught of Lakewood, Calif., Humberto Alvarez of Medford, Ore., and Michael Cooper of Blackwood, N.J.