A former player with the Springbank Soccer Club is living the chance of a lifetime this year, pursuing his dream of playing professional footy. Since August, 16-year-old soccer player Akwasi “Junior” Agyekum has been plying his trade with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy (VWA). The Calgary native has been playing for the Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise’s U17 squad, which competes in the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) league. The USSDA includes many youth MLS sides, and is the highest level of soccer available to teens in North America. Agyekum said the first few months in Vancouver have been challenging, but positive. “It’s been hard to adjust to, but it’s been OK,” he said. “You learn new things and get to play with players of a different and higher level.” His opportunity to play for the VWA came after he impressed the franchise’s academy coaches at the Whitecaps’ Southern Alberta Academy Centre. Agyekum was one of just 22 new players from across Canada to join the academy’s U15, U17 or U19 teams this season. But it hasn’t been easy going for the central midfielder, since cracking the roster. Agyekum has featured in just two of his team’s eight matches so far in the 2018-19 USSDA season. According to Agyekum, the increased pace of play has been the biggest adjustment on the field. “Not really the physicality, because I’m bigger than most people, but I guess the pace and speed of play,” he said. “You get used to it, after a while.” He admitted it’s been tough to adjust to his new life off the field, as well. “Just moving here, leaving family and joining a new school, and everything,” he said. “It’s all right. It rains a lot, which isn’t ideal, but it’s better than Calgary because it snows there a lot.” His goal for the season is to crack the U17 Whitecaps’ starting line-up, Agyekum said, and his long-term hope is to play professionally. Before the opportunity arose to move to Vancouver, Agyekum spent a year with the Springbank Soccer Club and a few years with the Calgary West Soccer Club before that. He starred for Springbank’s top U17 team in 2018, which finished second in Calgary’s Tier 1 outdoor league and seventh at the ensuing provincial championships. Nigel Brattle, who coached the Springbank U17 team last summer, said Agyekum’s strength and composure as a defensive midfielder were key to the team’s successful outdoor season. “He’s very skillful, physically strong, a great tackler and he’s just a good all-around player,” he said. “He was good on the ball, he was good in one-vs.-ones and he could pass the ball.” Agyekum was always dedicated and committed to his improvement as a player, Brattle added. “He didn’t miss practices, he came to everything and he practiced the way he played – hard,” he said. “A lot of kids, when you coach them, they come to practice to goof around, but Junior was never like that.”
