Admit it, when you were in elementary school — heck, probably when you were in middle school, too — you hoped and dreamed that you’d be a professional athlete. You probably thought you had a chance, too. Well, this British teenager was living your dream, working his way up through the West Ham academy system to the verge of a professional debut. Except he didn’t take it, because he’d rather play the saxophone.

Really.

(Bad choice, kid. Haven’t you ever seen “Green Street Hooligans”?)

The sassy young Brit in question is 16-year-old Tyler Rix, who turned heads on the BBC2 reality show “Classical Star”. Think “American Idol” with brass and keys. Even more impressive is the fact that he did so while still training at West Ham. But when he was offered a guaranteed $1.5 million contract by Universal Music Group, he decided to take the music money rather than play the odds on a much, much bigger payday with West Ham.

Seems crazy, doesn’t it? And, more significantly, why isn’t Rix trying to do both? Why not be both a musician and an athlete if you can pull it off? Clearly he had been, and more athletes than we’d like to remember have failed miserably chasing the same dream. So why in God’s name is he pulling out?

As you might expect, young Mr. Rix is a bit confident with his abilities. Just listen to what he had to say about the decision:

“I always knew that one day I would have to choose between my music and my football commitments. I could never have dreamt of making that choice in such a spectacular way.”

Really, Tyler? You always knew you were going to have to pull a Sophie’s Choice about your personal interests? That seems a bit too prescient, doesn’t it?

Then again, Rix isn’t wasting any time. His first album is hitting stores Feb. 2. The title? “Ascent”. Yes, he’s releasing a jazz sax album called Ascent. Who knew the next Kenny G was going to be an English soccer player?