Vince Toye always considered himself better at baseball than any other sport. And, while at Robert E. Lee, he played basketball for the legendary Paul Hatcher.

But it was football where he made his name, eventually signing a scholarship to play at the University of Virginia, where he lettered three years and was named to the all-ACC academic team. 

Vince Toye signs with UVA

Yet, when Toye had children he made a rule — no football until they were at least 13.

It had nothing to do with potential injuries and the violence of the sport. Toye loved football, and the sport had been good to him, giving him a chance at an education that he might not have had otherwise. 

No, the reason Toye's two sons — Chester and Mason — couldn't play football before they were teenagers was their dad's effort at expanding their horizons and not forcing them to follow exactly in his footsteps. 

"I didn't want my boys to play football because I played," said Toye, a 1982 Lee High graduate. "I'm my own person, I want them to be their own people."

And so the two sons found other sports in which to excel. 

Chester Toye became a lacrosse standout, eventually playing at Lehigh University. And Mason Toye became a soccer star.

On Friday, Jan. 19, Mason Toye, 19, the younger of Vince's two sons, was drafted by Major League Soccer's Minnesota United. He was the seventh overall pick at the time when many of his peers were just starting the second semester of their freshman year in college. 

Vince Toye never played soccer growing up.

"We really didn't have any soccer down in Staunton," said Vince Toye, who now lives in South Orange, New Jersey, and is an executive vice president at Wells Fargo. 

Vince Toye first discovered soccer while at UVA. He didn't play, but enjoyed watching it. But when both of his sons were younger, they gave soccer a try.

Mason also played lacrosse, hockey and basketball. For a time he was ranked as one of the top 10 players in New Jersey as a basketball player, even playing on a Nike Elite team as a high school freshman. But by his sophomore year, it was soccer on which he was 100 percent focused. Mason Toye said he was passionate about basketball, but it was soccer that he really loved. 

He got so good at the sport that he made the U19 national team and, last January, was invited to the U20 national team camp before getting injured while playing in England. He had a few tryouts with teams in Europe, but Mason decided the best path for him was college.

So he signed with the University of Indiana, where he helped lead the team to the 2017 College Cup Final. The Hoosiers lost a heartbreaker to Stanford, but the season had been a success for Mason Toye. He was named the Big Ten freshman of the year.

Going to Indiana, Mason didn't have a plan as to when he would turn pro, but once the college season ended and he realized there would be NCAA limits on how much he could practice with the team in the offseason, Mason decided maybe professional soccer offered him the best chance to continue developing his game.

In a sport not known for one-and-dones, that's exactly what Mason Toye became. After just a semester at Indiana, he entered the MLS draft and is now part of the Minnesota United. The Undefeated even featured Mason in a story about turning pro after one season of college soccer. 

On draft day, the Toyes weren't sure where Mason would end up, although Orlando at No. 6 or New England at No. 8 seemed most likely. And then Minnesota traded up and grabbed the 19-year-old. He was one of only two college freshmen taken in the draft. 

"It's just a lot of excitement for all of us," Vince Toye said. "We're just proud and just happy for him because this is what he wanted."

Mason Toye was in Philadelphia that night to attend the draft in person. When his name was called he had to go on stage and make a speech. There were more than 1,000 people in the room. The most people he had ever spoken in front of was about 40 in his public speaking class at Indiana. But he survived the speech, celebrated with his family and, less than 48 hours later was in Minnesota. 

He is happy with where landed. Spending time at Indiana gave him a taste of the Midwest, one he enjoyed. 

"It's just a different atmosphere than what I grew up with in New Jersey where it's a little bit faster and people are a little bit more short-tempered and not as laid back," Mason Toye said by telephone from training camp in Florida. "It's a good change of pace."

Mason Toye said professional sports isn't all the glitz and glamor that some fans make it out to be, at least that's not what he's seen in his short time as a pro soccer player. What he has noticed is just how good all the players are. 

"It's been great," he said. "I've learned a lot already in the past couple of weeks. The talent level is obviously ramped up. I'm playing with grown men. Some of these guys could be my dad."

Vince Toye talks to his son most every day, getting updates on training camp. From Florida, the team will head back to Minnesota next week for a few days before some preseason games in South Carolina. Then the season begins March 3. 

For his family, it's an exciting time, if not just a little overwhelming. 

"I still forget a lot of times that he just got out of high school six months ago," Vince Toye said.