Leathers enjoying moment in soccer

For someone in the last year of his contract, Athens native Jonathan Leathers is considerably relaxed.

Leathers, a defender on Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps, is in the middle of the final season of the four-year deal he signed when entering the league. But when asked about his plans for the future, Leathers was more concerned about now.

"I just try to focus on each day and do my best with each day," he said. "Obviously, in the back of my mind, I'd like to play on the national team. But as far as having a specific plan, I'm not too concerned about that. I just want to be the best player I can be and see where that takes me."

Leathers' attitude toward the immediate future may come from the fact that his time with the MLS is the icing on the cake of his soccer career.

When he played in recreational leagues in Athens and attended Prince Avenue Christian School, he didn't have dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. He was just enjoying the game.

That approach to soccer continued when he started playing club soccer with the Atlanta Fire.

"Club soccer, that was the really important thing when I played," said Leathers, the son of Athens' Lee and Vera Leathers. "You'd go to tournaments all over the U.S. and pro scouts would be there. That is how I ended up getting a scholarship to Furman."

Leathers started all four years at Furman and was one of the four players to start in every game in 2004, his freshman season.

In 2005, he was named to the All-Southern Conference first team. In 2006, as a junior, he was named Furman's Male Athlete of the Year and Southern Conference Player of the year after leading the team's backline to 10 shutouts.

Leathers earned the school's Male Athlete of the Yea