Nerwinski feeling the West Coast vibe
University of Connecticut product expected to help fill Caps’ lack of depth at right back
Sure, the Whitecaps needed a depth right back. Sure, Jake Nerwinski’s soccer talent looks to fit the bill.
But sometimes the match is even better than you realize: The city turns out to suit the player just as well. Nerwinski’s done his research.
“I like to hike,” Nerwinski said Thursday after he and the club announced they agreed to terms on a 2017 contract with options for the following three seasons. “I like to explore new places. In Vancouver, there’s lots of new places to explore. I’m excited.”
And he’s not a stranger to the West Coast either: He and his family travelled west for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and journeyed up from Seattle for the U.S. versus Nigeria game at B.C. Place Stadium.
Nerwinski played four years at the University of Connecticut, co-captaining the Huskies in his final two years. Playing pro soccer was always a dream, but it wasn’t until the end of his sophomore year that the New Jersey native actually thought it might be a real possibility.
“My coaches said at the end of my sophomore year I had MLS potential,” he said. “It was the only motivation I needed to hear.”
Consistency and realizing he had to push hard in training, the gym and games day in and day out were the biggest lessons he had to learn. But it wasn’t hard either, he said. “I’m a pretty self-motivating person.”
Nerwinski credits his parents. “They’ve always been my rocks,” he said. They’re travelling out for the season-opening weekend in March.
The last month has been a whirlwind. There was the draft in Los Angeles. “At first, I was just sitting there. It was a pretty surreal thing. People screamed. I paused for a second, it didn’t register they’d called my name.”
Then there was coming to Vancouver to start training camp, then almost immediately a flight to the U.K. Across the pond, he and his new teammates found themselves in a busy camp in Wales with lots of on-field sessions and team bonding at just about every other moment — though he did get to a Swansea City game. “The crowd was unbelievable.”
Now he’s officially in the Whitecaps’ plans. He’ll back up Sheanon Williams, who now has seven MLS seasons under his belt.
“He’s a really nice guy. He’s been helping me with positioning and things like that,” Nerwinski said. “The speed of play, it jumped out right away.”
Now it’s about impressing coach Carl Robinson enough to get some game action: “He says he likes my mentality.”
As for what he hopes to find at B.C. Place, he’s even studied up on that. “I’ve watched some videos on YouTube, it looks pretty wild,” he said. “The guys have said fans are so supportive. I can’t wait.”