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11/28/2017 11:00 PMMax Kwashie was born in Ghana and lived in England for a few years before he and his family moved to the United States and settled in East Haven. Soccer has always been an important part of Max’s life, and the senior recently completed his career as a member of the Yellowjackets.
“I always liked playing soccer. I’ve played since preschool, and it was always natural to me,” says Max, a senior at East Haven. “When I moved to England, that’s where I started playing. They have a great preschool soccer program over there. When I moved to East Haven, I didn’t even know there was a soccer league for a while, but in 5th grade is when I started playing here.”
When Max first arrived in East Haven, he would just kick the ball around with friends in order to satisfy his desire to play. However, when he found out that East Haven has a town league, Max bolted right to the field.
“For a while, I was just playing with my friends here and there,” Max says. “When I found out about the town league, I was very excited. I signed up and was playing the next day.”
Max grew into his role as a defender, and that became his primary position with the high school team. Max’s quickness on the pitch proved one of his biggest assets on defense for the Yellowjackets.
“Defense is fun. I started as a midfielder, but I ended up liking defense. It grew on me,” says Max, who also does sprints and jumps for East Haven’s boys’ outdoor track team. “Mainly my speed and how aggressive I am to win the ball. Even if I lose it, I’m aggressive to win the ball back. My speed helps me chase down those few guys that do get away.”
Max was one of the Easties’ senior captains in the recent fall season. He liked being in that role and felt that his teammates respected him as a leader.
“It meant a lot to finally become a captain, because I saw the responsibility that was needed to be taken, and I was up for the challenge. I’m not perfect, but I wanted to learn as captain, and I was happy because, playing varsity from freshman year, you look up to your senior captains and want to be there one day. To finally be there in that role, I was very happy and excited. It was like a dream come true,” Max says. “We worked together and tried our best to make sure everybody was able to communicate and express their feelings. I wanted to make sure everyone’s voice was heard, so we can assess and bring to the surface any problems, misunderstandings, or confusions on the field that needed to be dealt with.”
Yellowjackets’ Head Coach Ryan Harrold says Max set a great example for his teammates to follow in his leadership role. Harrold adds that Max’s presence on the field typically gave his fellow Easties a big boost.
“Max is a very talented athlete. He’s very passionate, and I think Max has good field knowledge. He understands how the play is developing and where he needs to be,” says Harrold. “He gives everyone on the field a lot of confidence when he’s back there. The whole team dynamic changes with the knowledge Max is back there. He has great speed and there are very few players than can match him speed-wise. Him just being on the field is definitely a plus for us.”
Even though the Yellowjackets didn’t win as many games as he wanted during his tenure, Max feels glad that he help develop the necessary groundwork for future Easties’ teams to potentially succeed.
“Every team has its building time. Right now, East Haven is going through that. Everyone won’t be perfect in one season. It’s a work in progress,” says Max. “I enjoyed playing and enjoyed my role as captain, learning from my coaches and being with my teammates. Overall, it was a fun, memorable experience.”