December was a month for Zach Khima and Luke Mason to showcase their talents.

First, Khima, a senior striker for Amory High, traveled across the pond to England where he visited a college.

Coming off an exceptional football season for the Panthers as an outside linebacker - 107 tackles (7.6 tackles per game), three sacks and three passes defended, and a fumble returned for a touchdown - he visited the Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy in the middle of December.

The Academy is associated with Richmond, the American International University in London.

"Part of it is in Leeds and then the other part is combined with Leeds Met (Metropolitan University), which is a school in England," Khima said. "It's like an academy team, and they got like five different teams.

"Their top team plays the reserves of the English Premier League - like Man U (Manchester United), Arsenal, Liverpool and all of them. Then they got a second team, a third team, and then you got the academy team and your collegiate level (team)."

The 2010-11 Daily Journal Soccer Player of the Year even got to play in an under-18 Cup match while over there.

"I did pretty good," he said. "I hit the post once or twice and I had a couple of crosses.

"They liked me a lot and we're still talking through email."

As far as schools in the States recruiting the 57-goal scorer from a year ago, Khima says he has some options.

"I'm undecided right now," he said on Saturday, after his Amory High soccer team played Corinth. "I got a college coach here today (Saturday). He's from Lindenwood University, which is up in Missouri near St. Louis.

"I got so many choices to choose from. I'd rather just take my time and make the right choice academically and athletically."

Florida Southern College, Lipscomb University and Itawamba Community College are among the many recruiting the Amory senior.

"There's just so many more that I can't think of off the top of my head," Khima said.

He's also had a busy past couple of months playing both football and soccer. This past fall, in addition to suiting up for the Amory High football team, he participated in "all kinds of different showcases" as a member of the MidSouth Futbol Club out of Memphis.

"I've been nonstop," Khima said.

And on whether his body has broken down due to all of that physical activity, he added: "Not yet. I'm hoping and praying it doesn't."

One of Khima's former club teammates in Tupelo is Luke Mason.

"I played against him in a club match, also, in the fall when I was playing for MidSouth," Khima said.

From THS to Sunshine State

Just like his Amory counterpart, Mason is also a Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star selection and a college prospect who's been busy playing in showcases.

Mason, a senior at Tupelo High, who can play a variety of positions, took part in Disney's Soccer Showcase in Orlando over the Christmas holidays, as a member of Mississippi Gulf Coast Dynamo's U18 Blue team.

It was a successful trip to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for Mason and Co.

The Gulf Coast Dynamo went undefeated in their Copa Red U18/19 bracket and capped off the tournament with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Magic PSG Disney team in the finals.

Mason had a goal and three assists in the four games.

"I love playing with that team," he said. "We keep the ball really well. We all love playing with each other.

"The competition in Disney was especially good. Definitely the best showcase I have ever played in. We played two Illinois teams ... and we played the North Carolina runner-up and the North Texas runner-up. So it was good competition."

Mason - who has been preparing for the college game by lifting weights - is projected to play left back in college. As of now, he has Delta State, Mississippi College, the University of Memphis and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as "the main four" recruiting him.

"I have been lifting weights the past two years to get ready for college soccer which I am hoping to play," he said. "So, yeah, my legs have definitely gotten a lot stronger, especially from my freshman year."

In the next month or so, both Khima and Mason will decide where they will take their games after high school.

john.wilbert@journalinc.com