Last week, fellow columnist Josh Purse talked about soccer phenom Freddy Adu signing a professional soccer contract with Major League Soccer team D.C. United. Several teams across Europe, including Inter Milan and Manchester United were interested in Adu. While it's obvious that Adu is the best young soccer player in the world, he is still young. He only turned 14 this year.

In a world where the next best thing is now being found on junior high playgrounds, Adu is on the long list of young prodigies crossing over into pro sports. He is in fact the youngest U.S. sportsman to sign a professional contract. He also inked his name to a $1 million endorsement deal with Nike.

He definitely has the talent according to U.S. national coach Bruce Arena.

"He's a very graceful athlete. His first touch and vision are outstanding for a player his age," Arena told the Associated Press.

However, for the sake of soccer in this country, analysts have not focused on Adu possibly having trouble adjusting to the rigors of pro sports. At 5-foot-8, and 150 pounds, he is small in size. He is known for his quickness, but that will only take him so far when playing against men. The physical and exhaustive nature of soccer at the professional level could wear him out. If he gets injured, it becomes a precarious situation since doctors are dealing with a teenage body. And, players won't take it easy on him once he hits the field.

Other professional sports, like football and basketball have age limits for players who want to make the jump to the professional ranks. In basketball, a player must be a high school graduate. In football, a player must be at least three years removed from prep football. NBA Comissioner David Stern also has been lobbying for an age limit similar to the NFL. It really makes a sports fan wonder why something like that hasn't been brought up with the emergence of Adu. Where are the lobbyists now that a 14-year-old is playing pro soccer without any age eligibility rule governing his status?

Adu has managed to be in an accelerated high school program that will allow him to graduate in March. However, he arrived from Ghana only six years ago. That must be quite a high school program. I'm sure he won't be the last pre-teen prodigy in any sport to go through it either.

I am happy that Adu is providing some energy and awareness of soccer in this country. However, Major League Soccer is pinning their hopes on Adu becoming the American version of Pele. Soccer enthusiasts have called him the LeBron James of MLS, which he absolutely is not. Both are immensely talented and physically gifted, but LeBron is more physically gifted and talented than about 85 percent of the players in the NBA right now. This surely cannot be said for Adu, comparatively speaking at his age.

What it comes down to is the dollar bills in the eyes of MLS, which sees its chance to make soccer a true national sport. In Adu, the league gets more exposure, more revenue, and the chance to heighten international interest in the U.S. as a soccer powerhouse. MLS also wants to emphasize Adu is an American, meaning he's a product of the U.S. He is nicely marketed, right down to his U.S. citizenship, which almost sounds like a PR move considering how often it is mentioned in connection with him. Perhaps, a player like Adu can lure players from Europe to play in the States, or at least lure American-born players back to their breeding grounds. Despite the possibilities, Arena still understands the perils of teen pros in sports.

"There are young athletes in this country and around the world that are highly regarded by the adults at early ages that never meet the expectations of the adults," Arena said.

Let's just hope that Adu's professional game will match his pre-professional hype.

Ashley A. John is a senior in Materials Science and Engineering. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com.