‘Soccer is an art when he plays’

Gift from Haiti set for bright future

By John Robertson
Staff Writer
Blount Press Row

Emmanis Houser takes the field for Carpenters Middle School during a recent match. Photos by Chris Cannon

There are certain aspects of soccer that just cannot be taught or coached, no matter how many hours are invested on the practice field. The best coach on earth couldn’t teach the instinctive grace and beauty that some players effortlessly epitomize with a ball at their feet.

To find this type of talent in East Tennessee, which is such a football-oriented area, is extremely rare. To find this type of talent with the background that Emmanis Houser has is of “finding a unicorn” status. He is gifted.