Last fall, the Indiana University athletics department featured Femi Hollinger-Janzen—the 51st overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft—in a film series titled, "I'm a Hoosier." The clip tells Hollinger-Janzen's story, as narrated by the forward himself.
When Femi's mother, Lynda Hollinger-Janzen, first met her son, he had from a deformed leg, bent upward in a u-shape. A passerby had brought Femi to her hospital—a church-based mission in Benin, West Africa—and left him by her side. Because she could not locate his birth mother, she elected to take him under her care until she could find suitable parents.
But parents never arrived. So Lynda and her husband adopted Femi. After his leg healed, they quickly watched him develop into a natural athlete. In 2000, Femi and his family moved from Benin to Goshen, Ind., where he made a name for himself as a standout soccer player. In 2012, Femi joined the Indiana Hoosier's men's soccer team. He won a National Championship his freshman season.
Now, Hollinger-Janzen will compete for a spot on Jay Heaps' roster, seeking to turn his humble upbringing into a career in Major League Soccer. Watch Hollinger-Janzen's story above—or read the complete article on imahoosier.indiana.edu.