African soccer players continue their journey at Caldwell
GREENSBORO — It’s a long way from Africa to Greensboro, but the journey is far from over for two Caldwell Academy soccer players.
Akachukwu Ikezu and Otto Twagiramungu are assimilating on and off the field while keeping their athletic and educational goals in sight. For both Caldwell juniors, who came to the United States as refugees, it has been a challenge.
Ikezu arrived from Nigeria three years ago, following in the footsteps of his older brother Emeka, who now plays football and basketball at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
“When I got here it was really hard because I couldn’t understand,” he said. “I thought everybody was speaking fast and I couldn’t understand them, but within three or four weeks I began to understand that they were not speaking fast. I just didn’t understand the language well.”
But he understood soccer, even after not playing much for three years to concentrate on basketball.
“I’m beginning to get my touch back and get my skills back,” Ikezu said.
“He’s got real skills,” first-year coach Josh Quarandillo said of his 6-foot-5 forward. “He looks like a basketball player, but he’s a natural soccer player.”
That was evident last season, when Ikezu had 19 goals and 10 assists to lead Caldwell in scoring. He also has become a vocal leader for the Eagles, who are 1-2-0 heading into Saturday’s Greensboro United Showcase match with Northwest Guilford.
“One of the things he did during preseason camp was constantly encouraging his teammates: ‘Come on guys; come on, we can do this!’ ” Quarandillo said. “That’s something I didn’t see out of him at the beginning of the summer.”
Twagiramungu, a native of the Congo who came to the United States from Uganda in 2012, is the yin to Ikezu’s yang. A shorter (5-9), physical defender, he quietly leads Caldwell from the back line.
“I told him just the other day that he’s like a bear — he’s ferocious in battle,” Quarandillo said. “When it’s game time, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a strong player, especially a player of his stature. Off the pitch, he’s as gentle as they come.”
“I’m a physical guy. I’m fast, some people say,” Twagiramungu said. “Coach Q is helping me learn more about reading the game, which is very important.”
Just as important is what the 17-year-old is learning off the field. As with Ikezu, the language barrier has been the most difficult to surmount as they pursue their common goal of earning scholarships to play college soccer and to help their families.
“Some people in my classes understand me because I speak with them many times,” Twagiramungu said, “but other places, people may not get what I’m saying. That’s OK. Over time, my language will get better.”
Two areas in which both Ikezu and Twagiramungu more than measure up already are their work ethic and leadership.
Both spent the summer as part of the maintenance crew at Caldwell, where their job included repairing the soccer fields on which they compete.
“Some people here think that was hard,” Ikezu said, “but it’s not hard because back home I walked three miles to fetch water.”
It was the kind of work their friends back in Africa didn’t think Ikezu and Twagiramungu had to do in the United States.
“In Nigeria, everyone there thinks if you come to the United States everything is easy, you make money so easy,” Ikezu said. “But it doesn’t work like that. If you want to make it in life, you have to work hard.”
The experience has been similar for Twagiramungu.
“When you’re in Africa and think about the United States, of course you might think it’s a magical land,” he said. “When you come here, you realize after spending some time here that life is the same. You have to work hard here, too.”
That hard work and the spiritual education they have received at Caldwell have helped both players become leaders. Quarandillo tells a story about what happened when a senior captain led a devotion before a recent game, then asked his teammates for comments.
“The very first person to talk was Akachukwu,” the coach said, “and he talked about how important it was for us to encourage one another on and off the field, that we needed to be working to make soccer more than just a sport, that we needed to make it spiritual. He said we needed to make it a ministry to one another, and I just really appreciated that.
“The second person to talk was Otto, and he said, ‘I think we need to make sure that on and off the field we who are older — juniors and seniors — are not just bossing around our freshmen and sophomores, but we are teaching them the way to do things, that we’re training them up properly, that we’re providing good leadership for them both physically and spiritually.’ In a nutshell,” Quarandillo said, “that explains both of those young men.”
GREENSBORO — It’s a long way from Africa to Greensboro, but the journey is far from over for two Caldwell Academy soccer players.
Akachukwu Ikezu and Otto Twagiramungu are assimilating on and off the field while keeping their athletic and educational goals in sight. For both Caldwell juniors, who came to the United States as refugees, it has been a challenge.
Ikezu arrived from Nigeria three years ago, following in the footsteps of his older brother Emeka, who now plays football and basketball at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
“When I got here it was really hard because I couldn’t understand,” he said. “I thought everybody was speaking fast and I couldn’t understand them, but within three or four weeks I began to understand that they were not speaking fast. I just didn’t understand the language well.”
But he understood soccer, even after not playing much for three years to concentrate on basketball.
“I’m beginning to get my touch back and get my skills back,” Ikezu said.
“He’s got real skills,” first-year coach Josh Quarandillo said of his 6-foot-5 forward. “He looks like a basketball player, but he’s a natural soccer player.”
That was evident last season, when Ikezu had 19 goals and 10 assists to lead Caldwell in scoring. He also has become a vocal leader for the Eagles, who are 1-2-0 heading into Saturday’s Greensboro United Showcase match with Northwest Guilford.
“One of the things he did during preseason camp was constantly encouraging his teammates: ‘Come on guys; come on, we can do this!’ ” Quarandillo said. “That’s something I didn’t see out of him at the beginning of the summer.”
Twagiramungu, a native of the Congo who came to the United States from Uganda in 2012, is the yin to Ikezu’s yang. A shorter (5-9), physical defender, he quietly leads Caldwell from the back line.
“I told him just the other day that he’s like a bear — he’s ferocious in battle,” Quarandillo said. “When it’s game time, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a strong player, especially a player of his stature. Off the pitch, he’s as gentle as they come.”
“I’m a physical guy. I’m fast, some people say,” Twagiramungu said. “Coach Q is helping me learn more about reading the game, which is very important.”
Just as important is what the 17-year-old is learning off the field. As with Ikezu, the language barrier has been the most difficult to surmount as they pursue their common goal of earning scholarships to play college soccer and to help their families.
“Some people in my classes understand me because I speak with them many times,” Twagiramungu said, “but other places, people may not get what I’m saying. That’s OK. Over time, my language will get better.”
Two areas in which both Ikezu and Twagiramungu more than measure up already are their work ethic and leadership.
Both spent the summer as part of the maintenance crew at Caldwell, where their job included repairing the soccer fields on which they compete.
“Some people here think that was hard,” Ikezu said, “but it’s not hard because back home I walked three miles to fetch water.”
It was the kind of work their friends back in Africa didn’t think Ikezu and Twagiramungu had to do in the United States.
“In Nigeria, everyone there thinks if you come to the United States everything is easy, you make money so easy,” Ikezu said. “But it doesn’t work like that. If you want to make it in life, you have to work hard.”
The experience has been similar for Twagiramungu.
“When you’re in Africa and think about the United States, of course you might think it’s a magical land,” he said. “When you come here, you realize after spending some time here that life is the same. You have to work hard here, too.”
That hard work and the spiritual education they have received at Caldwell have helped both players become leaders. Quarandillo tells a story about what happened when a senior captain led a devotion before a recent game, then asked his teammates for comments.
“The very first person to talk was Akachukwu,” the coach said, “and he talked about how important it was for us to encourage one another on and off the field, that we needed to be working to make soccer more than just a sport, that we needed to make it spiritual. He said we needed to make it a ministry to one another, and I just really appreciated that.
“The second person to talk was Otto, and he said, ‘I think we need to make sure that on and off the field we who are older — juniors and seniors — are not just bossing around our freshmen and sophomores, but we are teaching them the way to do things, that we’re training them up properly, that we’re providing good leadership for them both physically and spiritually.’ In a nutshell,” Quarandillo said, “that explains both of those young men.”
