The Square Life

During my interview with Kyle Beckerman, I was shown, rather than told, one thing: Kyle waves back to his fans. A grey Passat passed by, and a blonde haired kid who looked about 12 years old, yelled and waved out the backseat window, “Kyle!” Kyle paused, mid-sentence, and simply waved back. He then continued with the interview as if this were normal.

So, why do you want to know Kyle Beckerman? The question should probably be, why wouldn’t you want to know Kyle Beckerman? After all, he is one of the hardest working players in the MLS, he is the captain of Real Salt Lake (the second place team in the West), girls swoon over him, and he is naturally very likeable. Kyle wants to win an MLS championship. But in order to know where he is going, you will need to know where he came from.

We met for the interview at the Xango practice field in Lehi by the point of the mountain. Sitting on a long silver bench, wearing camoflauge shorts and a new pair of free Nikes, Kyle began to tell me how he started playing soccer. “I grew up in Crofton, Maryland…[with]…my brother; he’s four years older. I pretty much tagged along [with him]. Whatever he was doing, I did. He was playing soccer, and so I went out, and I think my parents were the coach for both the teams, and I just kind of loved it, loved the game.” He continues, “I guess I excelled at it. Maybe that’s why I liked it a little bit more. [I] just stayed with it and really enjoyed playing; I was playing all the time, in games and with friends around the neighborhood.” He explained that, “Soccer’s pretty big in the Maryland, DC, Virginia area. I lucked out that there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood who were around to play.” Not only was Kyle playing soccer at the time, but he was also playing lacrosse and baseball.
Kyle started becoming more competitive in soccer around fourth or fifth grade and tried out for the Olympic Developmental Program in sixth grade, two years earlier than the other kids trying out. “I ended up getting on the pool, which I was really stoked for, and my buddy that lived down the street…made it too, so we were pretty pumped for each other.” His mom always encouraged him by saying, “Somebody’s got to make the team; why not you?”

At age fifteen, Kyle made the U-17 national team, which really threw his world upside down. “Every two weeks, it was like I was going somewhere else that they were taking the team.” Frequent traveling, however, did not affect his social life too much. His coaches would encourage him and the other players to keep up the friendships they had outside of soccer. “I made sure that when I came home…[I would] go hang out with…friends and see how they were doing. [By] doing that, I was able to keep some close friends that I still talk to, to this day.” It is this kind of perspective that has helped keep Kyle humble.

During his time with the US U-17 team, Kyle played some of the biggest names in US soccer today: Landon Donovan and Demarcus Beasley, who both ended up starring at the 2002 World Cup in Korea. “We had a really good team. Everybody got along.” Kyle and his team were changing some of the age-old stereotypes America has as a basketball, football, and baseball country only. Kyle helped do that by scoring the winning goal against Argentina, giving the USA its first win in Argentina in 86 years. “I scored a goal to help us win the game.” Kyle was more interested in helping US soccer improve its reputation, and that meant he needed to help win games. “When we were playing these big name teams, we were trying to play even harder to get some respect in those countries.”
As Kyle continued playing, he was given the opportunity to go pro into the MLS at the age of 18. He was drafted by the Miami Fusion where he played and learned for two years until the team was disintegrated. He was then picked up by the Colorado Rapids in the 2002 dispersal draft. He played there for five years until last year, when he was traded to Real Salt Lake. He loves his current team and situation. As mentioned earlier, Real Salt Lake is currently second place in the Western Conference. Real Salt Lake is only two points out of first place.

Real Salt Lake’s situation is also getting caps (appearances) for the Men’s National Team, something that Kyle always dreamed of. “I used to write my mom a note if I wasn’t going to be there when she came back, with an autograph: USA number 15.” His first cap came against Denmark, but his favorite moment was playing against Argentina in the Copa America: “I was about to sub on, and Tevez, Carlos Tevez, was about to come on for (Lionel) Messi. So I’m just hanging out here, getting ready, and I see Carlos, and he’s right there; and then Messi comes and they slap fives, and it was unreal because these guys are awesome, and to play on the same field was really fun.” “You’ve got to believe that you can be there, or else you’re going to struggle. But you believe in your ability that you can do it.” He didn’t let the big names or the big game atmosphere get to him. “I wasn’t too nervous. I got out there and was ready to go; it’s just soccer.”

For someone who is so impressive and gritty on the field, Kyle is pretty tranquil off of it. I asked him some of his favorite music, and he mentioned reggae first. He likes all of the Marleys. He also mentioned hip hop and is currently into Talib Kweli. If he had to pick a favorite artist, it’d be the Notorious B.I.G, but that isn’t just the east coast in him speaking. When I asked him what he does for food, he says that he eats out a lot and frequently dines on sushi. And when I wondered how he keeps his legs revitalized, he shared his secret: a weekly massage to keep them fresh.
Speaking of what he likes to do with his free time, Kyle loves to surf, which I was surprised to hear, considering he is a Maryland native living in Utah. Despite that, Kyle makes sure to get the surfing in. The last three off-seasons were spent in Costa Rica enjoying the warm water and swells. The Utah summers also offer him a time for activity, and he recently bought a bike to better enjoy the pleasant temperament that the nights offer. He enjoys snowboarding and the lifestyle that the Rocky Mountains provide, although at first it was tough to adjust to the altitude. “I’ll leave for the off-season, and then I come back, and I just feel it right here (pointing to the base of his throat).”

And although it takes a while to adjust to the altitude, it’s worth it to play on a team like Real Salt Lake where the melting pot of culture on the team makes for some great chemistry. “Nothing, nothing at all,” Kyle says in regards to team personality problems. There are none. It is a team that gels well, and it shows. And this might be one of the best reasons why Kyle Beckerman will win an MLS championship—because he plays hard, game in and game out. But not just him—his team also. “I, myself, and everybody out on the field is working as hard as we can; we’re fighting…we’re fighting hard for them (the fans) every game and putting the hours into training…we want to give it our absolute all to put a smile on their face and give it our absolute all every game.”

Whether he’s putting a smile on the faces of fans through his gritty, blue collar, hard-working style of play, or just treating them like normal people when they come up to him and congratulate him on a good game, Kyle is happy. He’s happy to be here in Utah where “the nights are unreal,” and he can enjoy them on his bike and win during the days with his team. He’s happy playing the game he loves, day in and day out, and surfing in the off-season in the warm waters of Costa Rica. And he’s happy because some day he will win an MLS championship because, as his mom would say, somebody is going to win it; why not you?

So next time you see Kyle, wave. And unless he’s in the middle of tearing apart defenses with his passes or scoring game-winning goals, he will stop what he’s doing and wave back, even if it’s mid-sentence.