By Mike Woitalla, Executive Editor
Soccer America Magazine
Going from the sheltered life of the college campus to professional sports presents a number of challenges. HereÆs how a quartet of MLS rookies have coped and excelled.
Chris Rolfe (Chicago)
MAKING IT IN THE WINDY CITY
He grew up in Kettering, Ohio, a city of 57,000, went to college in Dayton (population: 170,000) and now Chris Rolfe is getting used to Chicago, the nationÆs third largest city with 2.8 million.
''ItÆs growing on me,'' says Rolfe, perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2005 rookie class after notching six goals. ''ItÆs a different way of living. I use my bike, because you canÆt find parking spots.''
Rolfe did spend time in Chicago before getting drafted 29th overall. He played two summers for Chicago Fire Premier in the PDL.
''That was the turning point for me,'' he says. ''Coming from a small Division I school that didnÆt make the NCAAs, nobody would have noticed me.''
Rolfe thanks Fire veterans for his rookie success: ''For example, Chris Armas would come up to me and reassure me about my abilities. I tend to doubt myself, and getting a confidence boost like that really helps.''
Danny OÆRourke (San Jose)
FEELING WELCOME
When a new player joins a pro team, heÆs competing for someone elseÆs job. But Danny OÆRourke found amity, not animosity when he arrived in San Jose.
''The first night, Craig Waibel and his wife took me out for dinner,'' he says. ''The next evening, Wade Barrett took me out.''
OÆRourke captained Indiana to two national titles before going pro. The defensive midfielder has seen action in nearly half of San JoseÆs games as it became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.
''The fact that [Coach] Dominic [Kinnear] has created such a tightly knit team I think is a big part of our success,'' he says.
Indiana training sessions, OÆRourke says, prepared him well but were longer and physically harder than in San Jose, where he says thereÆs more technical work with a lot of emphasis on thinking about the game.
''TheyÆre different styles,'' he says. ''Both are good.''
Scott Sealy (Kansas City)
HITTING THE RIGHT BEAT
The beat of Soca music helped Scott Sealy combat homesickness when he first left Trinidad for college in the United States and now itÆs family that makes him comfortable in Kansas City, where heÆs become the highest scoring rookie in MLS.
''I was very homesick,'' Sealy says of going to Wake Forest in 2001. ''Different food. Different weather. It was very cold in North Carolina.''
Listening to Soca, a fusion of calypso and Indian rhythms, helped warm things up for Sealy, whose teammates even added the Kevin Lyttle hit, ''Turn Me On,'' to their pre-game CD.
''My teammates and coaches were all willing to work with me and eventually I came into my own and progressed,'' he says.
Sealy, a swimmer who set national records in breaststroke, didnÆt play organized soccer in Trinidad until he was 14.
''I played in the streets and at a park near my house with older guys who didnÆt like to lose, so it was very intense,'' he says. ''In high school, I started playing soccer and concentrating on it over swimming.''
He was called up to youth national teams and during his college senior year debuted for the full national team, for which he has been a regular in World Cup qualifying. He earned a degree in sociology in three and a half years, then was drafted by the Wizards.
''Playing on the national team helped prepare me for MLS,'' he says. ''But it was still an adjustment. Coach [Bob Gansler] wanted me to play on both sides of the ball. Before I was mostly offensive.''
In June, Sealy was joined in Kansas City by his fiancTe, Kaomi, and his 2-year-old son, Dante. Shortly afterward he embarked on his scoring spree.
''ItÆs a big plus to come home to family after practice,'' he says. ''ItÆs important to get your mind off soccer and relax when you get home. Then when I hit the field IÆm totally focused again.''
Abe Thompson (FC Dallas)
LEARNING FROM THE VETS
ItÆs not easy living in Texas without a car, but Abe Thompson has made do hitching rides with teammates.
'';Saving money is important when youÆre on a developmental contract,'' says the 23-year-old Virginia product who earns a $16,000 salary from MLS.
He lives with former University of Maryland teammate Clarence Goodson and they share the cooking duties. ''We switch off,'' Thompson says. ''We do a lot of grilling. I also do a good breaded chicken.''
On the field, Thompson has notched three MLS goals and is one of the leading scorers in the MLS reserve league. ''My main adjustment was learning to spin off the defender and looking for long balls,'' he says. ''In college, it was more checking back for the ball.''
He says reserve league play and learning from veterans has been a great experience: ''ThereÆs no one better to learn from than Carlos Ruiz.''
(This article originally appeared in the September 26, 2005 issue of Soccer America Magazine.)