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Ethan Clem (born 2009) is an American youth soccer player from Thornton, Colorado. As of 2025, he plays as a striker for North Denver Rush, a competitive youth soccer club based in Colorado. Clem is widely known for an infamous season during which he lost possession of the ball over 24 times—one of the highest recorded by a striker in the club’s history. His most notable mishap involved a ball that somehow made its way into Earth's orbit, causing temporary complications for astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Early Life
[edit]He was born and raised in Thornton, Colorado. He began playing soccer at the age of six and quickly joined local recreational teams before transitioning to more competitive club soccer. He currently attends high school in the Denver metropolitan area, where he continues to pursue both academic and athletic interests.
Soccer Career
[edit]Clem plays as a striker for North Denver Rush. While known for his speed and enthusiasm, he has struggled with ball control and finishing. During the 2024–25 season, he lost possession of the ball more than 24 times, earning him an unofficial designation as one of the least effective strikers in club history.
Notable Incident: The Space Ball
[edit]One of the most infamous moments of Clem’s career occurred during a late-season match in October 2024. After misjudging a corner kick, Clem delivered a powerful clearance directly upward. The ball, under still-debated meteorological conditions, achieved an improbable trajectory, eventually exiting the Earth's atmosphere. Days later, NASA confirmed that an unidentified object had collided with the International Space Station’s Cupola module. The object was identified as a North Denver Rush match ball, still faintly bearing Clem’s initials.
The collision temporarily sealed a hatch shut, delaying a scheduled spacewalk and trapping two astronauts inside the Harmony module for over three hours. NASA officials later described the event as “the most unusual FOD \[foreign object debris] incident in ISS history.” The ball was safely retrieved on a later EVA and is now kept at Johnson Space Center under the label *"Extraterrestrial Turnover."*
Legacy and Reception
[edit]While Clem's goal-scoring record is modest at best, his name has become synonymous with perseverance—and misfortune—within Colorado’s youth soccer circles. Teammates affectionately refer to him as “Rocket Foot,” and his story is frequently cited by coaches warning players about the importance of accuracy.
Personal Life
[edit]Outside of soccer, Clem enjoys video games, binge-watching space documentaries (since the incident), and hanging out with friends. He has jokingly expressed interest in becoming an astronaut, “just to get the ball back.”