By Mike Woitalla, Executive Editor
Soccer America Magazine
In 1997, then-MLS deputy commissioner Sunil Gulati engineered a revolutionary player development program dubbed Project-40. The MLS-U.S. Soccer venture provided the nation's best young players an alternative to college soccer while offering them a tuition stipend to pursue higher education during or after their pro careers. Nearly 100 players have since opted to forego college or leave early through P-40, and more than 40 graduated to full MLS contracts. They include players who have reached the U.S. national team, such as Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, Tim Howard and Bobby Convey. Soccer America asked a quartet of early P-40 signees to look back on their decisions to skip school to pursue the pro dream.
Josh Wolff (Kansas City)
A champ his first year
When Project-40 launched, it focused on the 1997 U-20 national team, which included Josh Wolff (left), who had a year left at the University of South Carolina.
''Sunil [Gulati] had presented most the guys on the U-20s with the idea to play professionally, be protected for a couple of years, on minimum salary [$24,000], an allotment of money, $40,000 for school to be used within 10 years,'' Wolff recalls. ''I felt like it was a win-win.''
Wolff figured being in a pro environment would improve his chances of making the 2000 Olympic team, which he did.
In 1998, his first pro year, he played on the P-40 team in the A-League before moving into the Chicago Fire lineup and notching eight goals as Chicago won the MLS title.
By 2004, Wolff, who played in the 2002 World Cup, was earning a salary of about $400,000. He has yet to return to college.
Brian West (Fredrikstad)
A true student-athlete
You won't hear Brian West complain about the rigors of being a professional athlete.
''You only practice once a day,'' he says. ''There's plenty of day left.''
West had completed two semesters at the University of Virginia when he went P-40 in 1998 and joined the Columbus Crew, where he played six seasons before moving to Norwegian First Division club Fredrikstad in January 2004.
While in Columbus, when other players went golfing or relaxed in some other fashion after practice, West attended four hours of classes.
He earned a degree in management information systems at Ohio State.
During his first season at Fredrikstad, despite a nice salary, he found a part-time job, working from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as a computer programmer before practice.
''It's a relatively small town and easy to get bored,'' he says. ''I wanted something to do and put my skills to use.''
Nino Da Silva (Chicago Storm)
After MLS, acting and indoor ball
Nino Da Silva's career hasn't gone exactly how he'd hoped when he went pro after graduating from high school in 1997, but he has no regrets.
''I wouldn't change anything,'' says Da Silva, who didn't bother taking college recruiting trips. ''I wasn't into school, and soccer is in my blood.''
Da Silva's father, Nilton ''Batata'' Da Silva, played for Santos in his native Brazil, where Nino was born, then moved to Mexico's Club America. When Nino was 6, the family moved to the United States, where Batata played indoors for the Los Angeles Lasers and the Chicago Sting.
The family settled in Illinois, and Nino, whose older brother is in law school at Arizona State, was determined to follow in his father's footsteps.
A member of the first P-40 class, he played just 13 games in four seasons with the Kansas City Wizards and the MetroStars.
''It's great to see all the young players in the league right now,'' he says. ''When I joined, the players were much older, and it was difficult for a teenager. But it was a great experience.''
He has since played five seasons of indoor ball and has been a prolific scorer for the Kansas City Comets, St. Louis Steamers and Chicago Storm, his latest team.
While in Kansas City, he heard about a casting call for the film, ''The Game of Their Lives.'' That filming would take place in Brazil prompted him to drive to St. Louis for auditions. He got the role of Eddie Souza, a forward on the U.S. team that beat England at the 1950 World Cup.
In May, Da Silva, 26, landed another acting job, in a Nike commercial that included Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Tim Howard.
Da Silva, who has started taking classes at Harper College, also supplements his income working soccer camps in the offseason.
''I like playing indoor soccer and I find it exciting to watch,'' he says. ''I'm glad that soccer is still part of my life. We'll see how it goes from here.''
Andy Kirk (retired)
From keeper to accountant
Andy Kirk didn't see a minute of action in goal for the Tampa Bay Mutiny in the 2000 MLS season. He had turned pro three years earlier, after two seasons at the University of Maryland. He played six games the previous season and nine during his 1998 rookie season with San Jose.
Sitting on the bench was taking its toll.
''When you play every game for your entire life, it's a bit of a shock and it's tough to get through,'' says Kirk, who decided after the 2000 season to return college.
In San Jose, he had often listened to teammates Jeff Baicher and Eddie Lewis chat about investment opportunities. Kirk started playing the stock market and became a Wall Street Journal addict.
So when he returned to Maryland, he scrapped plans of becoming an English teacher and earned a degree in finance. Now 27, he's a mutual fund accountant for Rydex Investments.