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Teen star suits up U.S. national team prepares for Tunisia friendly
Posted: Saturday March 11, 2000 02:01 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- DaMarcus Beasley has just wrapped up practice with the U.S. national soccer team. Now he switches to his Chicago Fire jersey and obligingly heads and kicks the ball for 15 minutes as a Sports Illustrated photographer clicks away. Then it's off to the sideline for an interview, and later a scrimmage with a local college. It's not the life of an ordinary 17-year-old, of malls and movies and junk food, but Beasley has found another way to get his kicks. "I miss the parties, the dances, the going out on weekends when I'm usually practicing," says the Fort Wayne, Ind., native, who will suit up for the Americans in Sunday's exhibition game against Tunisia. "But I wouldn't trade this for the world. I like what I'm doing and I like where I'm going." Beasley is four years the junior of any of his teammates for Sunday's game, and if he sees action would be the third-youngest to take the field for the Americans. He's 17 years, 292 days old and will graduate high school in May. U.S. coach Bruce Arena expects to play the 5-foot-7, 126-pound forward against Tunisia. But he's not going to rush the young star. "We obviously think he's a kid who can be a fixture on the national team," Arena said. "He's only 17, so we need to be patient." Last year, Chris Albright, who's also on the roster, made his debut with the U.S. squad by scoring a game-tying goal on his first touch against Jamaica. But he was 20 then, an elder statesman compared to Beasley. "I can't imagine being 17 and being here," said Albright, now 21. "With the experience he's getting now, by the time he's my age, it's going to be very special to see what level he's at. He's a very special player." For now, though, he's also a teenager. The Bradenton Academy in Florida, an academic haven for young athletes, sends Beasley his assignments on the road. He hands them in and takes tests whenever he's back at school or home. It's an arrangement that both he and his friends take in stride. "They always say, 'What country are you going to next?'" Beasley said. "They're behind me 100 percent." Beasley became the youngest player to sign a contract with Major League Soccer last March 16 under its Project-40 youth development plan. In February, the Los Angeles Galaxy traded him to the Fire for the sixth pick in the 2000 draft and a 2001 first-round pick. He'll join the team after graduation. Beasley finished as the second-leading scorer at MLS's recent spring training tournament with two goals and three assists. He won the Silver Ball as the second-most valuable player in last year's FIFA Under-17 World Championship in New Zealand. Against Mexico, he took a long pass, bounced it off his chest and before the ball hit the ground, drilled it 30 yards into the goal. Now, he's trying to earn a spot on U.S. team for the start of World Cup qualifying in September. "I'm new to the game, so I'm not looking for too much," Beasley said. He's practicing and playing with guys he watched in the 1994 World Cup and on TV during MLS games. But any jitters dissipated when he took the field. "On that first day, when I walked into the hotel, I was like, `Wow, that's Tony Meola,'" Beasley said of the goalkeeper, who started at the 1990 and '94 World Cups. "I thought I'd be a little nervous coming out here on the first day, but I wasn't. I was probably more relaxed than I've ever been." Beasley is no stranger to being a boy among men, or at least among older boys. His older brother, 20-year-old Jamar, plays for MLS' New England Revolution. Beasley first touched foot to soccer ball when he was 5, shortly after Jamar took up the game. They'd have matches in the backyard, and Beasley would often play with his brother's older friends. "It got pretty competitive when I was 13 or 14," Beasley said. "Everything I did, he'd try to do better, and everything he'd do I'd try to do better. It made us better soccer players. "Even when we were just messing around in pickup games, I'd be the youngest player there. It's got me where I am now."
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