The 18-year-old is a star of the Flagler Palm Coast team from Florida and has just been named as the News-Journal's boys soccer player of the year.

Growing up in Bermuda, Goodman's game was cricket, but there is not a great deal of that played in the US and so his attentions turned to soccer.

"It's just my favourite sport now,'' he said. "I really enjoy soccer. It's how I made friends and how I met all the friends I have now.'' As a team, Flagler, known as the Bulldogs, have done pretty well. Goodman has a state championship medal from last year and a runner-up medal from this year to prove it.

In his four years as a varsity starter, Goodman and Flagler have compiled a 110-17-1 record and have been in the state play-offs each year.

"James is one of those players who, when he comes off the field, you would notice it right away,'' said Bulldogs coach Bob Sawyer.

"In my opinion he is the best two-way player I've ever seen in high school.

By that I mean he can attack on offence and he knows when to go back and help on defence.'' Goodman plays mainly in central midfield, a position he has had to learn after moving forward from the back line.

The team's attack is led from the midfield, and Goodman has done a lot of attacking.

In the quarter-final match against Lake Region this year he scored six of the team's 11 goals. His season tally was 48 and he was the Bulldog's top scorer.

"I think his biggest strength is his relentlessness on the field,'' said Sawyer. "He just flat out gets after everything for 80 minutes.'' Goodman came to Flagler County as a 10-year-old from Bermuda. His father, David, is British and his mother, Marie Ange, is originally from France.

He played with Sawyer's Flagler United Dawgs off and on since he arrived and has also played club soccer for teams from Jacksonville, the Ormond Beach Apollo club and Orlando Lions.

Goodman's ability on the pitch has led to him signing a letter of intent and scholarship to play for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The university were among a number courting his services, but he said he picked the Spartans because of their reputation for having a top NCAA Division One programme.