Two left feats

The accolades abound for East Valley soccer standout Ben Funkhouser.

Coaches from high school through college can’t say enough good things about the fourth-year varsity player.

He’s on the National Olympic Development Player national select list, last summer was one of five high school athletes who played for the now disbanded Spokane Shadow’s Premier Development League team, and is ticketed to continue his soccer career at Gonzaga University.

In truth, Funkhouser is simply carrying on a family avocation while profiting from a genetic predisposition.

Like his father, Lee, and two siblings, Funkhouser is left-foot dominant. It provides an advantage over right-foot specific athletes when playing on the left side, coaches say, creating an added offensive dimension.

“It’s one of those things that helps you because you get picked for teams because you are left-footed,” said Ben. “Hopefully, at GU it gives me a head start.”

If being left-footed is an advantage, it also hasn’t hurt that his dad, two older brothers and an older sister helped pave the way for him in the sport.

Sister Heidi, also a lefty, was an All-Frontier League player at EV in 1994 and brother Nick, a righty, played for the Knights. He and Ben were teammates in Ben’s freshman year. A younger sister, Stephanie, plays club soccer, but runs cross country in high school.

Lee Funkhouser developed a passion for soccer before it became a high school sport and played a year of it at the University of Washington.

“I was a left-footed defender and they needed one,” he said. “Ben got the left foot from me, but it’s a much more talented left foot than I ever had.”

He was in on the grass roots of Spokane-area soccer, coaching one of the first youth teams in the early 1970s and continuing with the club scene on and off while coaching his children.

Ben took to the sport right away.

“We used to sit and watch games,” Lee said. “It was foreign to a lot of kids, but he understood what was happening as far as development of plays.”

As early as age 5, after watching a game on television Ben would work on moves in the yard, while Dad watched in amazement through the kitchen window.

“When I was younger I kind of stood out, I guess,” Ben said. “It was one of those things where we had a goal in the backyard and instead of basketball I played soccer.”

His talent, evident at the club level, would surface immediately in high school. He scored half of the Knights’ 10 goals during a 3-10 freshman GSL season. As a sophomore, he shared the team lead with eight and was second-team All-GSL.

Last year, when the Knights tied for their first GSL title under second-year coach Jeff Rose, he was second on the team with six goals, led EV in assists and was first-team all-league.

This year he has 11 goals, second again to teammate Cole Abramson, and leads the GSL-leading team in assists.

“He’s got the ability to take over a game,” said Rose. “He’s explosive, and the biggest thing is his change of pace. He can start and stop on a dime. Ben’s amazing.”

Last year’s Shadow coach, Kieran Barton, said that Funkhouser has the ability to change a game with one touch.

“He’s that special,” Barton said.

GU coach Einar Thorarinsson, who has watched him since he was young, said his shooting technique and accuracy are unique for someone his age.

“There are two types of attacking players, one who can create their own goal and one who plays into a shot,” Thorarinsson said. “He is a kid who goes to the goal very creatively and that’s a plus.”

At Gonzaga he will be used initially as an outside midfielder, but could eventually move into the center of the field, Thorarinsson said.

What catches the eye is Funkhouser’s smooth, seemingly effortless style on the field. He isn’t one to fly around, hustling non-stop as some of the GSL’s best players do. But suddenly out of nowhere, there he is, booming a hard shot to the goal from outside, outmaneuvering the defense to get in close or finding an open teammate. Rose’s explanation is that the ball follows him.

“It’s one of those things when you’re being marked the whole game, that you’ve got to float around and wait for your moment,” Ben said. “And I guess my vision is pretty good finding people at the right time.”

During last summer’s ODP national camp in Florida, Ben’s written assessment of his strengths all dealt with attacking – his shooting, passing and dribbling abilities.

Included among his weaknesses were getting back on defense and recovering following a lost ball. Barton said his confidence needs to match his potential.

Ben’s dad, having been one-dimensional with his left foot, stressed ambidexterity and said his son will point it out whenever he scores with his right leg.

But being a lefty has opened soccer doors for one of the GSL’s top players. When he puts everything together, who knows where soccer can ultimately take the unassuming Knights athlete.