Deer Park Soccer Prodigy Goes Viral

If you only watch one sports replay today, this is it.

Nkosi Burgess, 15, a  freshman, scored an incredible overhead goal that most people wouldn’t believe unless they saw it with their own eyes.

Luckily for readers, the move was captured on film and uploaded to YouTube. The video went viral over the weekend, receiving more than a million views, and will certainly get the teen noticed in the sports arena.

In the U15 Youth soccer travel team game at Dowling College on March 24, Burgess who plays for the Dix Hills Heat, is on the receiving end of a free kick into the box. He then wows the crowd by flicking the ball to himself on his back heel and completes a backward overhead kick into the goal. The goalie for opponent Hauppauge Brazil, makes a valiant effort to block the ball, but is no match for Burgess.

The incredible move prompts a voice to speak up. A spectator is heard saying, “Wow” and then a slight execrate, natural to the sight. The Dix Hills Heat won the game 2-0.

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A Yahoo! Sports blog picked up the video, which was originally posted on YouTube. ESPN also republished the YouTube video which had 1,359,355 hits as of Wednesday morning.

Burgess is welcoming the sudden fame. In an interview with Patch, he spoke about what it's been like to be known by more than a million people.

How long have you been playing soccer?

I've been playing soccer since I could walk. My parents introduced it to me then I just stuck with it. 

Have you been getting much attention for the YouTube video of your backward kick at Dowling College? If so, what's it been like?

Yes, I've been attracting a bit of attention recently. Well, it is very shocking to me, and i'm still trying to take it all in. A lot of people in Europe have been contacting me through Facebook saying they liked the goal.  

Any of your friends or teachers talking about it in school? What are they saying?

Almost all of my friends have seen it. They are as excited as I am. A lot more teachers saw it then I thought would have, and a couple of them showed it in class. 

What's it like for you to be seen by a million people (and counting)?

I was happy when I saw the video made it to 100,000 but then the numbers just kept on going up. Then sure enough after only two days it had reached one million. I was astonished when I saw this.  

Have you done that move before? Is it a signature move for you or was it an instant reaction?

Yes I've done the move before. This was the third time successfully accomplishing the move. My friends and i joke around doing it in practice but when it comes to the game you dont really think about it, it's just a reaction.

Any plans for college soccer?

I do plan on playing soccer in college. Also I would hope and strive to play Division I soccer.