{"id":38494,"date":"2017-10-16T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T14:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=38494"},"modified":"2021-02-11T23:20:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T06:20:43","slug":"league-leading-second-year-trojan-turning-heads-in-mens-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2017\/10\/16\/league-leading-second-year-trojan-turning-heads-in-mens-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"League-leading, second-year Trojan turning heads in men’s soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>he next-level speed, scoring, and confidence exhibited by striker William Akio, of the SAIT Trojans men\u2019s soccer team, is attracting attention around the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference<\/a> (ACAC).<\/p>\n

T<\/span>he 19-year-old is consistently affecting every match, and the proof is showing up on the scoresheets and being acknowledged by his repeated player of the game awards.<\/p>\n

Grant Stevens, the Trojans head coach, has noticed Akio\u2019s skills and determination growing since he coached him in his junior year.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s above and beyond most athletes. He\u2019s one of the best young men I\u2019ve met during my stint as a coach,\u201d Stevens says.<\/p>\n

Much of Akio\u2019s personal success is due to his elevated work ethic during training and practice, Stevens believes, but also the intelligence and drive he possesses as a young man.<\/p>\n

Stevens says Akio\u2019s speed, which is \u201carguably number one,” ball control, and \u201cheightened game sense\u201d give him an edge in the ACAC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he is playing his best, although it helps us, it also perturbs the opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat consequence of what he does improves our team, and our opponents suffer,\u201d Stevens explains.<\/p>\n

The coach notes that Akio\u2019s success has directly influenced the Trojans\u2019 success as a team, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re as good as he is and you have other good players around him, his success is partly due to the team around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young second-year Trojan shares this belief.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy success comes from my confidence in myself and my team. We have awesome chemistry and it is a really great atmosphere here,\u201d says Akio.<\/p>\n

Akin says the team members have a great bond, and they’re \u201calways having fun, singing and dancing on the bus\u201d during their trips out of town.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come to practice and I always feel really happy. I feel like I\u2019m at my best, and my team has really helped me,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

The Trojans want to be the best in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come to practice and we give it our all.<\/p>\n

We want it really bad, and nobody wants to give up. Everyone is trying really hard and its showing,\u201d Akio says.<\/p>\n

Akio, who was born in Nairobi, Kenya, moved to Canada 15 years ago, and his early childhood was spent playing hockey.<\/p>\n

However, he found his true athletic calling when he discovered soccer.<\/p>\n

He was watching a Chelsea Football Club match in the Barclays Premiere League, at age 12, and he admired the play of Didier Drogba.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know too much about soccer but I thought it was so cool how he ran with the ball, and I just fell in love,\u201d Akio remembers.<\/p>\n

Realizing his newfound passion, he studied Drogba thoroughly on TV and YouTube, and drew inspiration from the professional.<\/p>\n

Now he draws a major influence from Lionel Messi, and tries to shape his game in the style of the elite striker for Barcelona.<\/p>\n

\u201cMessi\u2019s so good. He does the little things so perfectly that he doesn\u2019t have to do anything extra.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one pushed Akio more than his father when he realized his son\u2019s keen interest in soccer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe saw how much I loved the sport and just wanted me to keep playing and playing. \u00a0It kept me out of trouble,\u201d Akio laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m on the pitch, I have confidence, and it helps me get better. \u00a0I bring it to school, I bring it when I\u2019m out, and it helps with other things,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m more courageous. I like to do lots of things, try new things, and I\u2019m not afraid of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Akio\u2019s first order of business is graduating school and obtaining his diploma in the SAIT legal assistant program, but he says pursuing professional soccer is \u201cnumber one\u201d on his goals for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to play pro. \u00a0I\u2019m close, I\u2019m getting there,\u201d Akio says confidently.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have to keep working and doing my thing \u2013 and my coaches are doing everything in their power to help me get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Aggression and control: <\/strong> William Akio, striker for the SAIT Trojans, sprinting down the field against Red Deer College in Calgary on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. Akio, who earned player of the game honours, scored three goals to boost the Trojans to a 5-0 win. (Photo by Jared Martin\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The next-level speed, scoring and confidence exhibited by striker William Akio, of the SAIT Trojans men\u2019s soccer team, is attracting attention around the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":38521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S2 Akio Profile","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-38494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sait-trojans-soccer","8":"category-sports","9":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38494"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40109,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38494\/revisions\/40109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}