Funk-d-fied
04-20-2007, 08:13 AM
Cooper Barham will report to class today, just like most other Permian High School sophomores.
There is one notable difference — he’ll be doing it on a different continent.
While most Odessans were sleeping, Barham landed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with his new teammates on the United States Under-16 men’s national soccer team.
His first training session with the team is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. local time in Northern Ireland, or 8:45 a.m. in the Permian Basin.
Barham is with the U.S. Under-16 squad to play in the Ballymena International Tournament in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. He learned of his selection to the team the afternoon of April 8.
“I was stunned,” Barham said. “I was just standing there with tears rolling out of my eyes and I didn’t really know what to say because this has been my dream every since I’ve played soccer. When I got the call, I was just shocked.”
Barham plays left back on defense with adept use of his left foot — and his right, as well — for both Permian in high school soccer and his club team, the Dallas Texans-West Texas Division ’91 Boys Red squad.
The director of the Texans-West Texas club is Kevin Johnson, who served as goalkeeper coach with the U.S. Under-17 men’s national team March 30-April 10 for a tournament in Montaigu, France.
For the Ballymena International Tournament, the U.S. was in need of a left-sided defender with good use of his left foot and Johnson had just the player in mind.
“(Johnson) told me I was the first person to come into his mind and so I got the call to play with them,” Barham said. “The coach said I was physical enough and I had skill enough to play. Hopefully I can go and play good.”
The son of Brett and Mara Barham, Cooper is one of 18 players on the U.S. roster for the U-16 tournament, which originated in 1999. Players on the U.S. U-16 team actually are in the U-17 pool, but qualify age-wise for younger competitions.
He is the only Texan on the roster for the team, which trains today through Sunday before playing group games Monday (vs. Scotland), Tuesday (vs. Czech Republic) and Wednesday (vs. Ireland) and a placement game Friday.
“It’s such a difficult process, especially being from West Texas, to try to get that exposure,” Mara Barham said. “It is beyond something we ever had thought would come his way, regardless of how good he did. The Dallas Texans have done a terrific job trying to get these kids from West Texas some exposure beyond high school with their soccer.”
While Barham has not played with any national youth teams before, he does have experience playing in North Texas State Soccer’s Olympic Development Program.
Despite that, Johnson said he had no hesitation offering up Barham as a possibility for a position.
“They’re looking to expand their pool of players,” Johnson said. “The first thing (the coaches) asked me if he was the type of kid who gets real nervous in a new environment and I knew he was a strong enough person to handle himself anywhere.
“He deserves this. He’s a hard-working kid and I was glad to help him out however I could, but really this is an opportunity he earned on his own.”
Barham was an instant starter on defense as a freshman for Permian and was named the District 3-5A Newcomer of the Year.
He was a first-team all-district selection in the recently completed season after helping the Panthers reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
“This is a special honor and I hope the other guys look up to him because he’s a great role model,” Permian head coach Luis Carmona said. “The biggest thing that always surprises me is how humble he is. He’s always willing to work and his feet are always on the ground. He’s just a special player.”
Barham’s parents are scheduled to fly out Sunday and will be on hand for each of the team’s three games.
They have grown accustomed to long trips for Cooper’s soccer prowess, making one of this nature even more special.
“He has sacrificed a lot,” Brett Barham said. “He has to go to Dallas almost every weekend, so he has to miss a lot of time with his friends and with his girlfriend. It’s a lot, it’s a lot for everybody in our family, and for it to pay off for him like this is a really neat deal.”
There is one notable difference — he’ll be doing it on a different continent.
While most Odessans were sleeping, Barham landed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with his new teammates on the United States Under-16 men’s national soccer team.
His first training session with the team is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. local time in Northern Ireland, or 8:45 a.m. in the Permian Basin.
Barham is with the U.S. Under-16 squad to play in the Ballymena International Tournament in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. He learned of his selection to the team the afternoon of April 8.
“I was stunned,” Barham said. “I was just standing there with tears rolling out of my eyes and I didn’t really know what to say because this has been my dream every since I’ve played soccer. When I got the call, I was just shocked.”
Barham plays left back on defense with adept use of his left foot — and his right, as well — for both Permian in high school soccer and his club team, the Dallas Texans-West Texas Division ’91 Boys Red squad.
The director of the Texans-West Texas club is Kevin Johnson, who served as goalkeeper coach with the U.S. Under-17 men’s national team March 30-April 10 for a tournament in Montaigu, France.
For the Ballymena International Tournament, the U.S. was in need of a left-sided defender with good use of his left foot and Johnson had just the player in mind.
“(Johnson) told me I was the first person to come into his mind and so I got the call to play with them,” Barham said. “The coach said I was physical enough and I had skill enough to play. Hopefully I can go and play good.”
The son of Brett and Mara Barham, Cooper is one of 18 players on the U.S. roster for the U-16 tournament, which originated in 1999. Players on the U.S. U-16 team actually are in the U-17 pool, but qualify age-wise for younger competitions.
He is the only Texan on the roster for the team, which trains today through Sunday before playing group games Monday (vs. Scotland), Tuesday (vs. Czech Republic) and Wednesday (vs. Ireland) and a placement game Friday.
“It’s such a difficult process, especially being from West Texas, to try to get that exposure,” Mara Barham said. “It is beyond something we ever had thought would come his way, regardless of how good he did. The Dallas Texans have done a terrific job trying to get these kids from West Texas some exposure beyond high school with their soccer.”
While Barham has not played with any national youth teams before, he does have experience playing in North Texas State Soccer’s Olympic Development Program.
Despite that, Johnson said he had no hesitation offering up Barham as a possibility for a position.
“They’re looking to expand their pool of players,” Johnson said. “The first thing (the coaches) asked me if he was the type of kid who gets real nervous in a new environment and I knew he was a strong enough person to handle himself anywhere.
“He deserves this. He’s a hard-working kid and I was glad to help him out however I could, but really this is an opportunity he earned on his own.”
Barham was an instant starter on defense as a freshman for Permian and was named the District 3-5A Newcomer of the Year.
He was a first-team all-district selection in the recently completed season after helping the Panthers reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
“This is a special honor and I hope the other guys look up to him because he’s a great role model,” Permian head coach Luis Carmona said. “The biggest thing that always surprises me is how humble he is. He’s always willing to work and his feet are always on the ground. He’s just a special player.”
Barham’s parents are scheduled to fly out Sunday and will be on hand for each of the team’s three games.
They have grown accustomed to long trips for Cooper’s soccer prowess, making one of this nature even more special.
“He has sacrificed a lot,” Brett Barham said. “He has to go to Dallas almost every weekend, so he has to miss a lot of time with his friends and with his girlfriend. It’s a lot, it’s a lot for everybody in our family, and for it to pay off for him like this is a really neat deal.”