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The Canadian Experience by Stephen Ademolu
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“It’s such a prestigious thing to get the call to play for your country. I don’t care if you play for Faroe Islands or another small place: it’s an honour. It means that out of millions of people – in my case throughout Canada – you were chosen. Now I’m talking about all the way from Calgary to Newfoundland and to Montreal – damn, all of Canada – I was chosen out of all the rest because I had something.”
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Canadian flag & sky – Photograph by Canadian journalist Djuradj Vujcic
The Canadian Experience
When I think back on what I’ve accomplished in my professional career I would have to say playing for the Canadian men’s national team was one of the biggest honours. Firstly, I would like to say that I never knew what sport I was going to choose when I was looking at which university I would go to. Who would have thought that I would eventually succeed at the university level and then escalate to being a professional soccer player in Europe and then go on to play for my country? I love the fact that I was the first person in Windsor to open the door for other Windsor players to even be considered for the national team. In a sense, I’m an ambassador for Windsor’s soccer program even though I don’t feel like it. I love the fact that no one ever expected me to play for Canada. I like that element of surprise where people look at you like, “who are you?” then they see you on the field and they say, “damn he’s fast and look at how much fun he’s having on that field.”
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Everything about the Canadian national team experience was pretty fun except that we don’t win enough but I truly believe that when I was playing we had a great group of players and wanted to win but the game don’t always work like that. It’s such a prestigious thing to get the call to play for your country. I don’t care if you play for Faroe Islands or another small place: it’s an honour. It means that out of millions of people – in my case throughout Canada – you were chosen. Now I’m talking about all the way from Calgary to Newfoundland and to Montreal – damn, all of Canada – I was chosen out of all the rest because I had something. I was in the top 24 players in Canada 5 times. When you get the call – when I got the call, that is – I was pretty shocked and nervous all at once. You get your ticket paid to (usually) go to Florida for training camp and you meet all the players randomly in the airport and in the hotel. Everyone is so nice. I mean, you’re going to get cocky or conceded players but man, if you’ve got twenty or more caps, trust me, you can be what you want especially if it’s with a smile. It’s not really cockiness so much as it’s arrogance but in a Canadian way which is nice – not like the American way. No offense, but it’s different. Everything with the whole training camp and with the team was so relaxing. It was kind of like work but in a great and peaceful and competitive atmosphere.
I loved seeing people that I watched on TV or heard about. Being on the same field as them brought me so much happiness. I always believed that I was the best kept secret and for the 5 caps that I got, I finally believed that I was now one of the 24 best players in Canada. At first, on the field, you get picked on but in a friendly and competitive way. When you’re nervous, you make silly mistakes and you do get clowned on, but it’s just for jokes. Nothing serious. Come on, we are Canadian and we’re here to help each other – that was the feeling I always got. Practices were intense at times which made me improve as a player because I was now playing against the best so any little mistake can make you exposed. Laziness (especially with Frank Yallop) was never tolerated and again, this made me a better player. Days off were great as I got to see a lot of cities and countries on the job.
The staff was just incredible. The nicest people ever. From Morgan the equipment guy to the physio people: everyone was so helpful and nice in welcoming me into the team. Other than the fact that I wish I could have got more free gear, everything was kosher. I really loved the fact that the coach would have dialogues with you. He would welcome you and talk to you. It wasn’t like a dictatorship like you might feel at your club teams. The coach believed in me and I do recall when I played against Jamaica the coach saying, “get Stephen the ball, he’s too fast for them.” That was an honour because now I wasn’t just a player, I was a key player for Canada. Again, I am so happy that I get to share this story with you guys because it’s a good feeling and I get flashbacks too so it helps me realize I am special and do have a gift.
All in all, my experience with the Canadian team was so good. Rooming with my best friend in the world (who’s like a brother to me) Kenny Stamatopoulos was too fun, I loved it. Going out after games or walking around the cities we played in and partying with each other was great. It’s a family atmosphere; everyone does a favor or tries to help each other out. Rooming with Dwayne (De Rosario) was nice. I will admit that I was thinking to myself: damn, I’m rooming with THE BEST and tomorrow we play Argentina, it doesn’t get any better than this. All the guys on the team were so much fun and the amount of times I died laughing at some of the jokes being told… man oh man. I do miss the core players I played with. I don’t know how the new generation is but I had the greatest experience and I’m so proud to be from Windsor and be part of the team. I can’t say that no one gave me a chance because if that was true, I would have never gotten the call. Not everyone will get called to play for the men’s national team but if you do, know that you will be welcomed and loved. But you have to prove yourself, prove your worth and prove that you should be there. You have to believe in your skills and don’t let anyone bully you on the field. You’re there to make a statement and to stay in it for the long run.
The staff was just incredible. The nicest people ever. From Morgan the equipment guy to the physio people: everyone was so helpful and nice in welcoming me into the team. Other than the fact that I wish I could have got more free gear, everything was kosher. I really loved the fact that the coach would have dialogues with you. He would welcome you and talk to you. It wasn’t like a dictatorship like you might feel at your club teams. The coach believed in me and I do recall when I played against Jamaica the coach saying, “get Stephen the ball, he’s too fast for them.” That was an honour because now I wasn’t just a player, I was a key player for Canada. Again, I am so happy that I get to share this story with you guys because it’s a good feeling and I get flashbacks too so it helps me realize I am special and do have a gift.
All in all, my experience with the Canadian team was so good. Rooming with my best friend in the world (who’s like a brother to me) Kenny Stamatopoulos was too fun, I loved it. Going out after games or walking around the cities we played in and partying with each other was great. It’s a family atmosphere; everyone does a favor or tries to help each other out. Rooming with Dwayne (De Rosario) was nice. I will admit that I was thinking to myself: damn, I’m rooming with THE BEST and tomorrow we play Argentina, it doesn’t get any better than this. All the guys on the team were so much fun and the amount of times I died laughing at some of the jokes being told… man oh man. I do miss the core players I played with. I don’t know how the new generation is but I had the greatest experience and I’m so proud to be from Windsor and be part of the team. I can’t say that no one gave me a chance because if that was true, I would have never gotten the call. Not everyone will get called to play for the men’s national team but if you do, know that you will be welcomed and loved. But you have to prove yourself, prove your worth and prove that you should be there. You have to believe in your skills and don’t let anyone bully you on the field. You’re there to make a statement and to stay in it for the long run.
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Stephen Ademolu, journalist
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Column & Photographs: Stephen Ademolu
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Stephen Ademolu
Canadian flag & sky – Photograph by Canadian journalist Djuradj Vujcic
All rights reserved 2008. Copyright © Djuradj Vujcic
Design & Artwork by Djuradj Vujcic
Illustrated by Sarah Riordan
Edited by Prvoslav Vujcic
and Deidre McAuliffe
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Urban Book Circle
C O N T A C T
Published by Urban Book Circle on July 30, 2014
Urban Book Circle® (UBC)
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Stephen Ademolu
Canadian flag & sky – Photograph by Canadian journalist Djuradj Vujcic
All rights reserved 2008. Copyright © Djuradj Vujcic
Design & Artwork by Djuradj Vujcic
Illustrated by Sarah Riordan
Edited by Prvoslav Vujcic
and Deidre McAuliffe
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Urban Book Circle
C O N T A C T
Published by Urban Book Circle on July 30, 2014
Urban Book Circle® (UBC)
Urban Book Circle: a circle of the gifted, literate and brave.