Washington Crossfire begins their first season in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL) under their new name (previously Seattle Wolves FC) Saturday in Portland. We caught up with Chaminade University goalkeeper Darren Smith and asked him a few questions about his career and the 2010 Washington club. You can see a 2010 Crossfire roster list here.
Darren is a goalkeeping star in Hawaii, and even coaches for the Arsenal Soccer School Hawaii. Find out how Darren made his way to Seattle in the interview below.
Washington Crossfire at Portland Timbers U23's, Saturday May 15, 2:30 PM, PGE Park, Portland.
Washington Crossfire Home Page
Washington Crossfire on USLsoccer.com
SSE: How did you get started in soccer? When was it clear you'd be a goalkeeper?
Darren Smith: "I started playing soccer at the age of four simply because I wanted to be like my older brother Derrick and since he played, I wanted to learn to play as well. It was clear at the age of fourteen that I'd be a goalkeeper due to the fact that I was much taller than my teammates in the islands and I also had a general knack for the position."
What are the challenges and rewards of playing soccer in Hawaii?
"I'd have to say that the challenge of playing soccer in Hawaii is primarily getting exposure to the speed of play the mainland has. The only time we'd see other squads were generally during our tournament trips in the spring or summer breaks. Some of the rewards would have to be year round tropical weather conditions where even in the rain it's still rather warm, access to numerous parks and fields to train and a wide base of international experienced coaches to learn from."
How did you connect with Washington Crossfire?
"It was thanks to my coach at Chaminade University of Honolulu who initially introduced me to the PDL league. After browsing around for potential opportunities I was able to contact our General Manager Jeremy (Supinski) about the open tryout being held on the 28th of April and proceeded from there."
What kind of club do you think you'll be this year? Who do you see as some of the key players and / or leaders for Washington?
"I believe that we will be a very diverse club as we have the potential to attack with pace or slow the game with our possession when necessary. We have a wide variety of talent on both ends of the field and it should be interesting to watch. I feel that we definitely have leadership throughout the squad, particularly in the front of our lineup. Kevin Forrest and Alex Chursky have been fantastic in bringing their intensity and experience to training and have brought the squad to another level."
What do you anticipate for your opener tomorrow in Portland?
"For our opener tomorrow in Portland I anticipate that we will come out hard and look to play our game. We are all eager to getting our season rolling and this will be a solid step to do so." (Interviewers note: the last time Alex Chursky played the Timbers U23's he scored a hat trick to beat them 3:2 in the 2009 playoffs).
How long have you guys been practicing?
"We had two solid weeks of training with the majority of us coming out of our spring training for college."
Smith with kids from Arsenal Soccer School Hawaii. (Courtesy photo)
What does coach Spidahl concentrate on in his practices?
"Coach Spidahl generally concentrates on fine tuning our formation and shape on and off the ball to better prepare us for our upcoming game."
Tell us a few cool soccer stories about your career so far. Also, how do you like the Seattle soccer scene?
"I was extremely fortunate in high school to have been able to win four state championship titles, two of them as the starting keeper. Due to an ankle injury I wasn't able to play division one soccer out of high school so I attended a junior college in Arizona (Glendale Community College) where I played football for a season. After that I made my way back to the soccer scene when Chaminade University, BYU-Hawaii, UH Hilo and Hawaii Pacific University entered the NCAA Far West Division 2 Conference.
The Seattle soccer scene is one of the major reasons I wanted to come here as both the players and fans are very passionate about their sports. With the ever growing popularity of soccer and the potential to learn more about the game in such an atmosphere, it was simply an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
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