This One Is Definitely A Keeper Fouts’ Stingy Habits In Goal Pay Off Big For Shadow

Josh Fouts pauses while listing his mother’s accomplishments as a goalkeeper in women’s 40-and-over soccer leagues.

“Just for the record, I started a year before she did, about in the first grade,” said the Spokane Shadow’s goalkeeper, for one moment as stingy with compliments as he is with giving up scores.

Donna Fouts’ response will remain unreported, drowned out by the warm Pacific waves near the family’s home in Hawaii.

But if Josh is responsible for introducing soccer to his family, he’ll at least credit his parents for giving him the right genetic makeup to stand in goal.

“My dad (Hal) is 6-foot-4 and my mom’s 5-3,” Fouts said this week, during a break from practices for this weekend’s USISL Northwest Division playoffs. “I got a little of each. I was a little, chubby kid growing up, but definitely one of the tallest. So they said, ‘Put the big kid in goal,’ and I’ve been there ever since.”

From Hawaii, to Illinois, to Spokane, Fouts has stopped a barrage of shots on the soccer field. His goals-against average of 0.87 per match during the Shadow’s regular season led all keepers in the USISL.

How Fouts happened upon Spokane is a meandering tale.

Hal and Donna Fouts met in Germany while both served in the U.S. Army. When it came time to settle down, their choices were Hal’s home state of Indiana, and its fascinating silos, or Donna’s paradise of Hawaii.

Kailua, Oahu, here they came.

Most of the natives good-naturedly referred to Josh, the Fouts’ only child, as a “foreigner” during his almost care-free school days. Fouts took the chiding well and developed a keen sense of humor that endears him to teammates.

“He’s ‘out there,”’ said Shadow coach Sean Bushey. “He’s very entertaining on road trips. People want him in their van.”

Fouts’ first long road trip came when he graduated from high school and set out for college ball. Quincy (Ill.) University, near the Mississippi River, was the first stop because Fouts desired a Catholic school, Division I program, and proximity to relatives. Indiana didn’t look so mundane to a kid who would otherwise be alone on holidays and breaks.

Fouts also has family in Seattle - an uncle and two cousins - so when he caught wind that Gonzaga needed a goalkeeper, his thoughts turned to transferring from Mark Twain country to Bing Crosby country. The first call to GU coach Einar Thorarinsson hooked him.

“Quincy was a good experience,” Fouts said. “I made a lot of friends there. It was a good place to go and make freshman mistakes, and come here with a clean slate.”

Fouts will enter his third and final season as the Bulldogs’ starting goalkeeper this fall.

Until then, for as long as the team stays on a roll, he’ll help anchor the Shadow.

“He’s a team-type guy, very popular,” Bushey said. “Guys are willing to work for him, so that helps. Josh has worked hard, but he’s also had the players in front of him.”

One of them, Brian Ching, finished third nationally with 16 goals, nine assists and 39 points. Ching and defender J.C. Fernandez are other Shadow players from GU, by way of Hawaii.

Fouts, like his mother, is interested in helping children with disabilities. He is studying special education at GU, influenced by Donna’s long-time involvement with United Cerebral Palsy.

Fouts’ personal life just took a big step, as he and Hedy Safranski, a couple for 1-1/2 years, set up house together. Safranski, a GU graduate from Portland, played volleyball for the Zags while her sister, Ivy, played basketball.

Fouts’ life may ultimately come full circle, but he doesn’t plan to rush back to the Islands.

“Having been on an island, you want to go out and see what’s out there,” Fouts said. “Until I left, I had never seen winter. I’d never seen trees change colors.”

USISL PLAYOFFS Today: Spokane vs. Okanagan, 6 p.m.; Yakima vs. Seattle BigFoot, 8. Sunday: Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. All games at Albi Stadium.

INSIDE THE USISL At stake: The champion will advance to play the Southwest Division champion. Spokane, if it wins, would get a home match if SW No. 1 Silicon Valley is upset. Telling statistic: Spokane is 7-1 against the field during the league season, the lone loss a 3-2 overtime decision against Seattle on July 18. Quote: “We’re playing at home, so I think the other teams have motivation, as underdogs, in hoping to steal a win” - Shadow coach Sean Bushey.