By OSU Force Academy
Abdou Samake became the latest Ottawa South United alum to sign a pro contract last month, moving up the ranks with the Montreal Impact onto the club’s USL side.
The 18-year-old defender is now training with FC Montreal – the reserve team for the Impact’s Major League Soccer franchise.
“This is a really good confirmation that I’ve been working hard and I’m going in the right direction,” says Samake, adding he was doubly happy to make it as a pro with the club that first brought him into its youth academy. “I’m looking forward to working hard with them. But of course I know that this is not the end result. There’s still the MLS that I want to reach.”
Samake left for Montreal and the Impact’s U16 academy in 2013. The former Louis-Riel high school student now finds himself with a pro soccer side two years later, although “the road is not easy at all,” he notes, with moving away from home, and balancing a demanding training schedule with school.
“There are a lot of ups and downs – moments when you doubt yourself and moments when you feel confident,” Samake indicates. “The key is managing those moments. There were times where I thought ‘maybe this isn’t for me.’ It’s really important to trust your dream and trust yourself. At the end know I need to keep my head high and work hard. That has been the winning strategy for me.”
Samake, who came to Canada from Mali in northeast Africa at age 7, played his last two seasons in Ottawa with OSU before joining the Impact and helping their U16 and U18 groups reach the USSDA semi-finals in back-to-back seasons. He says OSU helped him bridge the gap between club soccer and moving into a professional environment.
“My time with OSU was incredible,” Samake underlines, highlighting the contributions of General Manager Jim Lianos, Head Coach Paul Harris and Force Academy Staff Coach Russell Shaw. “They made that gap so close that when I came here I already had almost everything that was required to play at this level. With all of the tools they gave me, I was able to come here and shine and get a pro contract out of it. I am very grateful for that.”
Latest OSU pro product
Samake’s pro signing comes on the heels of fellow OSU alum Kris Twardek joining Millwall FC in London, UK, several university grads making their way into the pro game in Europe, and a number of other recent OSU products joining youth academy teams with Canada’s MLS franchises.
Zoom Langwa was the latest OSU player to move into the academy ranks, joining several other Ottawa natives already part of the Vancouver Whitecaps organization, including Hayden Simmonds-O’Grady, Theo Bair, Benson Fazili and OSU alumni Dario Conte and Vana Markarian – who was recently selected for Canada’s U-20 national team program.
“We are very pleased to see so many of our players moving on,” says OSU Club Head Coach Paul Harris. “It’s very encouraging for us to see that it’s not just one player who’s made it maybe by fluke. To have so many definitely reinforces the work we’ve put into developing our programs, ensuring our players get to showcase their skills and get noticed, cultivating our relationships with next-level teams and providing them with great talent.”
Whitecaps event coming
Organized alongside OSU, Vancouver Whitecaps head of residency recruitment Frank Ciaccia will be in town for a Sept. 24-27 talent ID event. See osu.ca for more details.