Diablo Fit: Hometown Soccer Star Goes Pro

Danville native Kyle Davies stars for the under-20 U.S. National Team, and plays professionally in England.

Playing pro: It's the dream. Almost all sports fans have had it: To compete at the highest levels, to make the impossible plays, to get the bragging rights and all the benefits that come with it. It’s a dream afforded only to the fortunate few.

Yet, soccer player Kyle Davies, 19, from Danville, is beating the odds. Since 2007, Davies has been playing professionally for the Southhampton Football Club in England and the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team. His most recent accolade includes captaining the U.S. squad as it secured its seventh straight berth at the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Egypt this September. The March 10 victory against El Salvador, a 2–0 win in which the U.S. team still won despite being down two players by the end of the match, was the first time the U.S. has defeated El Salvador in a U-20 qualifying tournament outside of the United States.

“I don’t remember exactly what went through my head once we had won the game and knew we qualified,” says Davies, who plays defense for both the U.S. and Southhampton. “I just remember feeling so satisfied and happy with the team. We’ve all worked very hard for the opportunity and I’m just glad that we achieved what we went there to do.”

The “hard work” that Davies, the US Team Captain, talks about is rooted in the East Bay. Growing up in the Tri-valley area Kyle’s early soccer skills were influenced by both the Ballistic United Soccer Club based in Pleasanton and the Mustang Soccer Club based in Danville as well as California High School in San Ramon. Davies cites the East Bay’s diversity as one of the significant factors that helped propel him to the professional level.

“Playing in the Bay Area as a kid definitely helped me. You get players of many different backgrounds who all bring certain strengths and different aspects to the game, and it helps you to play against teams with different styles of play,” Davies says.

Another driving force behind Davies' success is his family. For just as there are professional soccer players, there are also professional soccer moms. Emma Winfield, has watched her son make the fast, and at many times challenging, progression to the professional level. She can remember her son kicking a soccer ball around at the age of five to sneaking out of the house to play a soccer game at the age of 10. Then of course, there are the many commutes she’s made back and forth to Davies' games. She says that the hardest part for her now is simply not being able to see her son play in person.

“Kyle left home at 16 to join the US Under-17 Men’s National Team Residency Program in Florida. As a result, I don’t see him as much as I would like,” she says. Adding to the difficulty, Davies is only able to return home about four times a year. Winfield says that this long-distance relationship and the stress that comes with playing professionally (the early-morning training and the constant traveling) have forced her son to make hard sacrifices most teenagers never encounter.

“He’s had to make some major life changing decisions: Go to college or turn pro, play in the U.S. in Major League Soccer or move to England to play with Southampton. Additionally, Kyle has had several surgeries, which he’s managed mostly by himself, which has been very hard for me as a mother,” Winfield says.

Coupled with the dramatic change in lifestyle is the equally harsh change in competition. Facing off against well-seasoned international teams is a huge jump from the daily skirmishes within domestic competition. Davies says that once you get older and begin to arrive at the professional level, the skill level of most players tends to even out, and that winning becomes a matter of drive.

“Obviously, you have a few exceptional players who can make it solely based on talent, but I think as you get older, it’s your desire and passion for the game that become more and more important and can make the difference,” Davies says.

Though the life of a pro is difficult at times, Davies looks at the hurdles more as opportunities and says that he’s really learned to love his time competing at the professional level. He credits his teammates as a motivating force that keeps him going, both on and off of the field.

Come September 24, Davies and his teammates are hoping to make history at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. After qualifying 12 times for past tournaments but never bringing home a title, the team is looking for one thing only.

“Our main focus for the World Cup is going to be to win,” Davies says. “It is the most important tournament that we play in as a U-20 group, and results are what matter the most.”

To follow Davies and the rest of the U.S. teams, visit ussoccer.com. To follow Southhampton Football Club, go to saintsfc.co.uk/index.php.

 

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