When one looks at the hotbeds of soccer in the United States, the great Northwest with the Seattle Sounders (MLS), to California and the Los Angeles Galaxy, to the East Coast where D.C. United (MLS) won three of the first four MLS titles, spring to mind.
The Midwest is often overlooked by the masses as a soccer hotbed. An easy picture of farms stretching further than the eye can see does not bring athletic, silky soccer players to mind. For Jacob Child, the Midwest, and Ohio was a great escape from his soccer hotbeds.
Heads were turned by the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2010 World Cup, and over the last 12 months, the addition of new soccer-specific stadiums and franchises in the MLS, success of soccer in Ohio at the national level, is on a very short list.
With an estimated 67,000 registered soccer players in Ohio ranging at all levels, the numbers speak for itself. At the professional level, Ohio holds two outdoor professional teams. The Columbus Crew (MLS) finished second in the Eastern Conference and lost in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup title match. The Dayton Dutch Lions (USL-Pro) made great strides in their inaugural season, beating the top teams in its league and securing its first-ever Lamar Hunt US Open Cup birth.
The college level is where the topic shifts to the top of the conversation. It all starts in the north, in South Euclid, on the campus of Notre Dame College. The Blue & White went all the way to the NAIA National Championship, losing their only contest of the season in the Championship to Hastings (Neb.). The Falcons have become a headline program in the NAIA, as Michael “Mac” McBride’s side boasts a load of top local and foreign talent, including Jacob Child.
McBride is no amateur at producing winning teams, or players who make it to the professional level. Just this season alone, the Falcons broke nearly every major statistical individual and team record, snagged up the NAIA National Player of the Year and Regional Coach of the Year award.
In just 10 years, McBride has built a powerhouse program; the Falcons have made three consecutive NAIA National Tournament appearances and four in the last five years. McBride has coached 15 NAIA All-Americans, and numerous award-winning players. In addition, four of his former players – Tim Finklea, Nicky Jordan, Josh Neimeyer, and Frank Jonke – have gone on to play at the professional level.
“We are now in a fortunate position of regularly attracting professional scouts to our games,” said Head Coach Michael “Mac” McBride. “This helps us showcase the talented players we have in our program. We fully expect to see several of our players playing at the professional level in the near future.”
Child, a senior from Surrey, England studied in the youth system of Queens Park Rangers for nine years; his time was highlighted in 2003 as a member of the England U-16 National Team. Then suddenly as many aspiring youth athletes careers do, it faded. “I didn’t decide to be honest, it just came naturally. After opportunities failed in England the opportunity was here at Notre Dame, Mac got a hold of me and it all happened from there.”
Child, 22, is an English defender, started and played in a program-best 85 matches. In four years, the 6-1 defender has been a part of the most successful span in NDC soccer, as the Falcons went 72-10-5. Last year, he helped NDC win the American Mideast Conference title for the third consecutive year, and the program’s first National Championship appearance.
The story didn’t end on a cool, emotional evening in Orange Beach, Alabama losing in the NAIA National Championship match. Because yesterday, Child arrived in Montreal, Canada to begin a trial with the Montreal Impact. The Impact plays in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and will make the transition to join the MLS in 2012 expanding the top league in North America to 19 teams.
“To be honest, come my junior year I thought the opportunity to go on and play professional was over,” said the Falcons left back. “Therefore I had it in my mind to work extra hard and enjoy the last two season playing at a high level.”
The trip to the NAIA National Tournament exposed Child to over 20 scouts, coaches and technical directors from a variety of professional and developmental clubs from across the country.
“I’m delighted to be lucky enough to have that chance,” Jacob Child said. “It makes all the hard work from not only the last four years but my entire playing career worthwhile yet the hardest work is still to come. Also it allows me to acknowledge and thank the great efforts of those around me to help me get me to this point.”
“There is no doubt Childsy is talented enough to become a professional player,” McBride said. “He was watched by a number of scouts last season, and the feedback we received was very positive indeed. It’s great to see him now have the opportunity to prove himself at the next level. We all hope that performs well during his tryout with the Impact.”
Child will have the chance to show his skills over a five-day trial with the Impact. The Englishman will have little time to adapt to the playing speed and mindset at the next level, while using his high work rate and exceptional technical ability to separate himself from the pack.
“For me personally it’s become the norm,” Child said. “At age 11 I was thrown in the deep end with soccer and had to become accustomed to new people and new surroundings. Then I made the big move from England to the USA without ever seeing the states before. The same can be said for this, I like to think I thrive in these conditions as I have to prove my worth all over again and there is no opportunity to coast on reputations.”
Yes, this is Child’s next step. But surely his story won’t end here…rather the next chapter begins.
