Sunday, January 22, 2012

Georgia Kid at West Ham..


Article written by Robert Ziegler, ESNN
Reprinted with permission from www.topdrawersoccer.com.

When Steve and Anne Johnson preside over their quartet of sons at Christmas dinner in their Duluth, GA home, it will be as happy and typical as any other occasion.

It's after the holiday season where the unique quality of the family situation kicks in. The Johnsons' son Daniel is an exceptional case in the context of American elite youth soccer. It's not that his dreams are so different from those of many other young men playing the beautiful game, but rather how vigorously he has, with his parents' help of course, pursued them.
DJ with his parents Steve and Anne.
Daniel, 16, is in the middle of his 3rd season with the youth side of English club West Ham United. He will learn in the coming year whether he is being signed on as a U18 "scholar" player with the club (the final step before the professional reserves and first team side of the London club). Regardless of whether that ultimate dream is realized, Daniel has been on a rather extraordinary journey. Both the details of it and the attitude which he and his parents have developed in the process are part of a story worth telling.

While his brothers (Zack-21, Nick,-18, and Drew-13) continue their educational and athletic pursuits back home, Daniel's route has been far more cosmopolitan. He was a precocious player who showed a tremendous enthusiasm for the game at an early age. Anne Johnson explains how things changed.

"His oldest brother Zack played for the Norcross Fury Gold and so Dan was dragged to games when he was younger. You know how it can be for the younger siblings, so we just said 'Here's a ball, go over there and kick it around,'" she explained. "Well around the time he was 7 or 8, he was just doing circles around the other kids. He had an affinity for the ball. He loved to dribble and he always had a ball in the house or in the backyard. We had him in other sports and he would do his requisite season in those and then just tell us 'Nah, I don't like that sport. I want to do soccer.' My husband played baseball in college and he wanted him to do that, but Daniel just said 'I don't like baseball. I like soccer.'"

Anne explained that while she had some exposure to the game growing up in Africa (child of a foreign service professional), neither she nor her husband had any understanding of the American competitive or player development scene. Daniel continued to progress in part through extra training at an area indoor facility and through coaches like Tony Annan at Norcross and Forsyth Fusion director Kerem Dasar. She mentions Casar passing on one particularly helpful point of advice.


DJ after a West Ham youth game.
 
"He told Daniel he would hear parents on the sidelines screaming things like 'Pass the ball.' But he said 'Don't listen to them. I want you to take on players. If you can take on the entire team, I want you to do it.' It was the right idea for him at that time (U11). It's not that you would do this at U15, but it turned out to be astute advice. He let Daniel be Daniel and the little guy was able to go a little freestyle and have fun on the pitch."

Around this time, Daniel, a 1995 birth year player, made the Georgia ODP '94 team in the age group's first year. As a result he went to the U.S. Youth Soccer Region III ODP camp in Mississippi, which began to open up a new world in terms of his possibilities.

"That's when we started to get the idea that maybe Daniel really is good at this sport," she said. "So my husband is in Mississippi and he calls to say Daniel made a pool game. I asked what that meant and he said he didn't know, but then he made another pool game."

What it meant is that despite playing a year up, Daniel was selected to be on the Region III team and traveled to Disney's Wide World of Sports where he played in the ODP Interregional, despite giving up a considerable amount of size to his teammates and opponents.

As Daniel continued catching eyes in the soccer marketplace, he had what turned out to be a life-changing opportunity to go on a soccer trip to England with some Atlanta-area players including an older brother. The Johnsons made it a family trip and Daniel was allowed to train with coaches of English clubs like West Ham and Tottenham.

Two things happened in conjunction with this: The coaches overseas were noticing the younger player's ability and Daniel was taking a real liking to the soccer-rich environment he was in, His mother remembers him saying it was like he had "come home." As Daniel recalls, it was love at first sight.

"All the people there are football fans. Everyone is football oriented. When I was little, that's what I was all about," he said. I just wanted to watch the (English) premier league. I didn't have anybody at school to talk to about a match I played in or saw at the weekend. When I come to school now, that's what everybody is talking about."

After being noticed on this trip, a trial the following spring, April 2008, was arranged. He did well enough to be invited back for another couple of sessions, including a trip to France with the West Ham U14s. By summer 2009 the West Ham youth coaches told the Johnsons they wanted him in the youth academy full time. The then 13-year old Daniel was able to make the move because his father's company included a branch in the United Kingdom, qualifying him for a work visa. Daniel enrolled in boarding school and is now in his third year of school and playing with what is now the West Ham U16s.

DJ in front of Selfridges Department store in Central London.
While the past 2 ½ years has featured some ups and downs, after all the whole process of the British youth system involves players regularly proving their worth and passing tests of various natures to determine their suitability as candidates for professional soccer, Daniel speaks very positively about his life in London.

He lives in a boarding house associated with his school. School lasts from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. After about 45 minutes for eating and preparing to train he is transported to the training ground for 1-2 hours of practice depending on the day of the week. Some days also involve time in the gym, and Thursday brings a whole day of on-field, technical, classroom and gym training.

Match days are Saturday and free time from soccer (as if) comes on Sundays and Mondays. Daniel's team plays in a Southeast England league against Premiership teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Fulham (he recently played central midfield in a match against Dallas-area product Emerson Hyndman, who is with the Fulham youth setup).

Daniel admits it took some time to adjust to playing English soccer, but is very positive about his experience thus far.

"The most notable thing is the intensity, passion and quickness of the game," he said. "All the kids want to be there and become a professional. That's what they want to do. The club always tells us, 'It's not practice makes perfect, it's practice makes permanent. The way you train is the way you'll be in the match.' So every kid takes the training sessions very seriously. They get the most out of you."

"The quickness and intensity alone can be a great shock to some of the American kids who come over on trial. A lot of times I see that the game just passes them by."

Daniel said the learning in this environment never stops.

"From a tactical standpoint, it took me a while to get better awareness of playing 1-2 touch and having my head on a swivel to know where everybody is on the pitch," he said. "I'm still getting that awareness. The whole U14 season I was working on checking my shoulder when I received a pass. I kind of knew to do that before, and I'm still not the best at it, but I'm definitely more aware.

"West Ham encourages a lot of technical ability," he continued. " Every Wednesday we have a 30-minute technical session in the warmup, working on agility with cones and all that. They always say they don't want to discourage me from dribbling, but for me to do it in the right areas. In the middle of park, they want me to keep moving the ball and get the attack started, but in the final third, if I see an opportunity with the defenders, to try and create something. "

School in the UK brings another variety of challenges.

"I wouldn't say I find it more difficult, just much different," he said. "The style with which they teach and the manners are differernt. The teachers talk and teach here, but not as much. They write a lot of notes and you copy them down you study and learn more on you own. There is more emphasis on the exams and how you do on those determines if you move on (to higher grades and levels).

Daniel added that if he is signed as a scholar he would do his additional schooling with the club as his soccer training would then take priority in the schedule.

As far as settling in with English life, Daniel feels he has largely done it.

"There haven't been any kids who single me out because I'm an American," he said. "Obviously you get the odd joke, but I can give one back. The only place I really see where being an American affects me is if I play football for my school. Some kids will hear my accent and sometimes I get comments. You can tell they don't like being beaten or shown up by an American in a sport that's supposed to be their sport.

Anne Johnson said she and her husband have tried to soften the transition and also take advantage of the cultural opportunities available to Daniel; visiting him during school breaks and taking in shows, museums and other cultural events. She added that the family is feeling positive about his opportunities to be signed, but are taking nothing for granted as coaches do not generally communicate with players' families beyond the absolute essentials.

"Things look good, but we know it's professional sports," she said. "They want to make sure their players are mentally strong and able to handle things professional athletes have to deal with. It's a lot of pressure for a 16-year old, but that's the nature of the beast for the kids who love it so well they want to do this."

While Steve Johnson's work visa enables Daniel to be a youth player, the family and club will still have to sort out tight British work permit rules should the chance come to sign as a full professional, but for now they'll leave that one to the attorneys.

For Daniel, perspective is a must, but he makes no secret of his goals.

"If it doesn't work it will still have been a great experience," he said. "I've learned so much, so coming back it will benefit my play, but the goal is definitely to stay."

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