Ives reports today that Zachary Herold has retired from Toronto FC and professional soccer at the age of 17. Herold has been diagnosed with a heart condition called Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM causes thickening of a section of the heart muscle and can cause a potentially fatal heart rhythm. Herold's turning pro was quite surprising. He impressed in this tournament, but as a left back, I didn't think he was going to get a lot of looks. As it turns out, the detailed physical he got after being selected by Toronto may have saved his life.
