Following Mississippi's Mapp
By Joe Maxwell
Homegrown Justin Mapp played youth sports in Mississippi like any other
child, making friends and memories that accompany him around the globe
as one of soccer’s elite players.
From the time he could walk, Justin Mapp wanted a ball—any ball. Corner
kicks … ground balls … three pointers ...
Mapp handled them all. “Justin could pick up anything and excel at it,” recalls Brian Kirby, a
former Belhaven College baseball player who grew up in Mississippi’s
Rankin County playing youth sports with Mapp. “Soccer, baseball,
basketball, ping pong, pool, chess—you name it, Justin was good at it.”
Today, the Chicago Fire midfielder has his own Wikipedia
site. Jared Montz—himself a Jackson (Mississippi) Futbol Club product,
former Chicago Fire teammate, and currently Puerto Rico Islander—says
Mapp “is incredibly talented and silky smooth.”
So neither Montz nor Kirby were surprised when—during a January 20, 2007
match between the U.S. National Team and Denmark—Mapp took over.
The 6-foot, 175-pound midfielder won a ball at the midfield, sprinted 70
yards down the right side, and he encountered two Danish defenders.
That’s when Mapp shifted to that magical gear most don’t have, split the
Danes, then crossed to teammate Jonathan Bornstein, who scored.
Justin’s father, David, saw his son make countless similar plays while
coaching one of Justin’s early youth teams in a Rankin County league. “He was always aggressive,” David Mapp recalls. “And he had speed
initially. He was good in all sports. It wasn’t just soccer. He played
select baseball.”
Justin loved them all.
“I just loved sports in general,” Justin said from San Diego’s Home
Depot Center, where he practices with the U.S. National Team. “I played
basketball, baseball. I really liked them all. I thought soccer was a
little special.”
Mapp, now 23, was shy as a boy. Youth sports in Mississippi helped him
make lifelong friends. “We’re still close today,” he says.
Soccer won his heart. “It was just a fun game at the time.” Today it’s a
bit different. “I’m trying to make a living now.”
Mapp, still single, has a healthy pro contract with the Chicago Fire.
And he is among thirty elite American players competing constantly to
make the 2010 World Cup Team, his ultimate goal. “I’m working on every
aspect of the game, whether it be crossing or defending, just the
complete package.”
Justin credits youth soccer coach Craig Demmin, a Trinidadian who played
for Belhaven College, with encouraging his early soccer interest.
Mapp traveled on Demmin’s Reservoir Futbol Club team. “We were very
competitive. I just thought, if I work with this guy, I can really do
something here.”
By age 12, Justin made the U-12 Youth Nationals team. Soon, he moved to
Florida to live and train full-time with the U.S.
Under-17 Men’s National Team. He played in the 2001 Under-17 World
Championships in Trinidad and Tobago and the 2003 World Youth
Championships in the United Arab Emirates.
Mapp was drafted fourth overall in 2002 by Major League Soccer’s D.C.
United, then was traded in 2003 to the Fire, where he has thrived.
Today, Justin appreciates much more all his parents did to help him
realize his dream; his mom, now deceased, was his biggest cheerleader;
his father coached him early and helped run leagues; there were travel
costs, club and tournament fees.
Says Mapp, “I didn’t realize what all they went through personally to
allow me to play.” SS
joe@thesportingspirit.com