{"id":199,"date":"2020-01-10T13:54:43","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T20:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/?p=199"},"modified":"2020-01-10T15:25:49","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T22:25:49","slug":"a-journey-from-senegal-to-connecticut-all-for-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/a-journey-from-senegal-to-connecticut-all-for-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"A journey from Senegal to Connecticut, all for soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio alignleft\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/Andres.mp3\"><\/audio><figcaption>Senegalese soccer player Papi Diouf talks about arriving in Connecticut for the first time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">When Papi Diouf arrived in Connecticut in 2011, he was immediately struck by one thing: the cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe breeze, the white, the cold, the ice,\u201d said Diouf, then 13 years old. \u201cThat hit me first \u2014&nbsp;and now I know I&#8217;m not in Senegal no more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A native of Thi\u00e8s, Senegal, Diouf came to the United States after being offered a scholarship to play soccer for Avon Old Farms, a boarding school just outside of Hartford, Connecticut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soccer runs in Diouf\u2019s blood. His father grew up playing the sport and his brother plays professionally in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large largeimage\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-1200x801.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo1-1-1980x1321.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Papi Diouf, 24, was born into a soccer family. His talents and family legacy earned him an opportunity to compete in the United States when he was 13 years old.<em> (Photo courtesy of CSUN Athletics.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He never imagined leaving his home in Senegal, but when the opportunity arose, it was his mother who gave Diouf \u2014&nbsp; a self-proclaimed \u201cmommy\u2019s boy\u201d \u2014 the motivation to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe told me, \u2018If you love me, you&#8217;re going to go do what you got to do,\u2019 \u201d he recalled. In that moment, he decided, \u201cYou know what? I&#8217;m out because I would do anything for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The words of his mother stuck with Diouf as he told her goodbye at the airport. Doubts and second thoughts began to creep in. But with tears in his eyes, Diouf reminded himself, \u201cYou can do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diouf had difficulty adjusting to life in the Northeast. He remembered having difficulty breathing the piercing cold Connecticut air. Even American food made him sick. He said he cried almost every night and begged to go back home in his first year. Diouf also didn\u2019t speak English, which hindered his performance in the classroom and on the soccer pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large largeimage\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-1200x801.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo2-1980x1322.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Diouf recalls not being passed the ball due to him not knowing how to communicate with his teammates in English. <em>(Photo courtesy of CSUN Athletics.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was so painful being on the field, playing with a friend, not knowing the language,\u201d Diouf said. \u201cSometimes you have a chance to get the ball to score, but they don\u2019t give it to you because you don\u2019t ask, because you don\u2019t know how to tell them to pass the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After an extended stay at a camp school in New Hampshire to focus on learning English, Diouf returned to Avon able to communicate with his peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-1200x1600.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/01\/photo4-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption><br>Papi Diouf went from not being able to ask for the ball in English to earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in communications. <em>(Photo courtesy of Papi Diouf.)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite his difficulties, and despite being one of only a handful of non-white students at the boarding school, Diouf said he never felt alienated or isolated. He instead found himself welcomed with open arms by his classmates and the staff at Avon Old Farms. They seemed to understand the sacrifices Diouf made to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt that point I wasn\u2019t thinking, \u2018where\u2019s the black people?\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just seeing everybody as a family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diouf struggled with homesickness, but he was able to find comfort and familiarity in the home of Peter Rice, his high school coach. Rice\u2019s wife, Tieba, is from Togo and the couple lived in the West African country for a number of years, Diouf said. They would cook traditional African dishes such as white rice with fish, tomato sauce, or chicken, which gave him a piece of home whenever he needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Rice family took Diouf in as one of their own. He would go to them whenever he needed to talk things out, which was crucial to him in his teenage years. They made the Senegalese teenager at home in Connecticut despite being more than 3,500 miles away from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide\"><blockquote><p>\u201cFamily isn\u2019t only blood. Family is who you can relate with and tell them what you think, and who can understand you \u2026 because of who you are.\u201d<\/p><cite>Papi Diouf<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Diouf spent three years at Avon before moving to Kentucky in 2014 to play for the University of Louisville, where he scored a goal in his first match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diouf then transferred to California State University, Northridge after his freshman year, where he scored the fastest goal in Big West conference history \u2014 eight seconds into an August 2016 match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He recently graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diouf is still training in hopes of playing professional soccer. If no team signs him, Diouf\u2019s backup plan is to become a sports agent and help young African athletes get the kind of opportunities that he did.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Papi Diouf moved to the U.S. to pursue sports, he realized family goes far beyond blood. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":276,"featured_media":203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/276"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csun2020.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}