Gilbert (Gil) Heron - The First Black U.S. Soccer Player Remains Forgotten.

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Gilbert (Gil) Heron was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 9th April 1922. As a schoolboy in the Caribbean, Heron excelled at track and field defeating Herb McKenley, who would go on later to become a 400m sprint world record holder and compete at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics in six events in total, winning one gold and three silver medals. As well as athletics, he played cricket, the national sport of the West Indies. Heron, aged 15, led his Jamaican school, St George’s, to victory in the Manning Cup, contested among schools in the Corporate Area (comprising the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew and most of St. Catherine)

In Heron’s later teenage years he moved to Canada. The young Jamaican played football and continued to compete in athletics, including long jump, high jump and sprinting, as well as taking up ice hockey. In 1940, at the age of 18, Heron became Golden Gloves welterweight champion of Michigan, and later enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Older brother, Roy Trevor Gilbert Heron, served with the Norwegian Merchant Navy during World War II and then joined the Canadian army, later becoming active in black Canadian politics.

In Detroit Heron took a job in an auto plant to make ends meet. Heron continued to play football after moving to America and became the first black person to play professionally in the United States was the only black player in US professional football at the time. In 1946, he signed for Detroit Wolverines, who played in the short-lived North American Professional Soccer League, which they duly won in its inaugural season, with Heron scoring 15 goals in eight games. Though Heron was the league’s top goal scorer that year he was paid only 25 dollars a game compared with the 100 dollars a game paid to white player Pete Matevich, who scored far fewer goals than Heron.

Considering the United States did not have a truly national league until the late 1960s, crowds of 2,000-4,000 were respectable by the US standards of the time. Despite getting paid less than his teammates Heron was drawing personal acclaim with his performances. In a 1947 profile, Ebony magazine described Heron as the ‘Babe Ruth of soccer.’ With reference to the sports roots in England the article said “The ancient Old-World game of soccer boasts a New-World star.”

As Heron’s performances continued to raise acclaim he was selected on the US’ All Star team the year after the Ebony magazine profile. This led to the striker transferring to Detroit Corinthians, who played in the larger American Soccer League.

In the 1950s Glasgow Celtic had a history of making lengthy American tours and doing some scouting at the same time. The goalkeeper Joe Kennaway was an earlier product of this strategy. One of Celtic’s scout must have been at a Detroit Corinthians game as the Scottish giants did not play Heron’s club on their 1951 tour. Regardless of the exact circumstances Heron was invited to Scotland for a public trial. The game was a success as the Jamaican scored twice at Celtic Park.

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Heron’s performance convinced Celtic sign him and therefore become the first black player to play the Scottish club Celtic, and the first to play professionally in Scotland. Heron told a Scottish newspaper upon signing in 1951 “Gee, I was tickled, Glasgow Celtic was the greatest name in football to me.”

His impact was instant as he scored on his debut on 18 August 1951 in a League Cup tie against Morton that Celtic won 2–0. As he had done in Detroit, Heron was making a positive impression on the media in Britain. “Right now, he is Scottish football’s Golden boy” said one newspaper. Another claimed “fifty thousand supporters hail him as the greatest thing seen at Celtic Park since goalposts.”

Heron was competing for the centre-forward role with John McPhail, a Celtic hero of the era. As former athlete in his youth, his extraordinarily pace led supporters to give Heron the nickname ‘Black Flash’.

As well as gaining recognition at club level Heron won a place on the Jamaica Football Association XI, which in 1952, played a series against the Caribbean Combined XI, which featured Trinidad star Delbert Charleau. Heron was a truly multi-talented sportsman and also excelled at cricket, having played growing up in the West Indies, and while in Scotland competed professionally for leading Glasgow clubs while resident in the city.

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Despite a successful club debut and rave reviews in the press Heron struggled to fit into manager Jimmy McGrory’s lineup, which included legendary performers such as Sean (Iron Man) Fallon, Bobby Evans, John McPhail, Bertie Peacock, Charlie Tully and Jock Weir. Heron scored 15 times in 15 appearances for the Celtic reserve team but ended his Celtic career after five first team appearances, scoring two goals in the process. It’s claimed the reasons for the brevity of his career in the famous green and white hoops were because he wasn’t robust enough for the Scottish game in the 1950s with its tough tackles and rough play. Other reports say the forward was far too stylish a player. The likelihood was, aged 29 when he arrived at Celtic, Heron was probably past his best, especially as pace was a key attribute to his game. Despite this Heron was described as “a great and supremely interesting human being” by the Celtic FC guide "An Alphabet of the Celts."

Upon leaving Celtic Park joined Third Lanark where he played in seven League Cup matches, scoring five goals but did not appear in the League. His football career in the UK concluded with a season at Kidderminster Harriers, playing in the Birmingham League. As he had been at Celtic Heron was the first black player to sign for the midlands club. In 1954, Heron would leave England returning home to Detroit to re-join Detroit Corinthians. With a family to support, he took a job on the assembly line at the Ford Motor Car Company. A man of many talents Heron later became a referee, as well as resuming his career as a professional photographer. Gil Heron was also a poet and jazz musician.

Despite being a pioneer in the game his achievements have been overlooked by his legendary son. In 1949 poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron was born in Detroit to singer Bobbie Scott, Gil Heron’s wife. The couple separated when Heron left for Scotland and did meet his son again until Scott-Heron was 26. While in Scotland Heron met his future wife, Margaret Frize. Heron had three more children, Gayle, Denis and Kenny, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Detroit, and eight grandchildren. Gayle said her father was not bitter he received so little recognition, “He knows he was a pioneer,” she says.

His son, Gil Scott-Heron became a rap music pioneer of the 1970s and 80s. His Midnight Band are best known for the polemic song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." On a visit to Glasgow Gil reflected that his father continued to take a lifelong interest in the fortunes of Celtic football club, until his death from a heart attack in November 2008, aged 86, "My father still keeps up with what Celtic are doing. You Scottish folk always mention that my Dad played for Celtic, it's a blessing from the spirits! Like that's two things that Scottish folks love the most; music and football and they got one representative from each of those from my family!"

When his father’s links to Celtic became known it became a feature of his son's UK concerts that some of the fans turned up wearing the club’s shirts. Scott-Heron would joke "There you go again - once again overshadowed by a parent. I'm going to wear my Celtic scarf and Rangers hat when I come over!" The singer went into more detail about his father’s career in an interview with The New Yorker “It was after the war, working for Western Electric, he also played for the Chicago Maroons, or something like that. A Scottish team came through, and he scored on them, which was not what they had come for. They was all white. He went to Scotland, and the legend goes he scored the day he arrived. He was dubbed the Black Arrow, and played professionally for three more years.”

Writing this article, I discovered that behind a little-known fact was an incredible life story of a man who may be overlooked as the father of his legendary son. However, Gil Heron was a trailblazer in his own right, and his own personal achievements will go down in Celtic history.

 

AMERICAN SOCCER IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING BLACK HISTORY (MONTH

A few weeks ago, the editorial staff of SoccerGods.com had a brainstorming session, in the middle of which someone almost offhandedly said, “Well, it’s Black History Month.” It got a genuine laugh, because the idea of American soccer and black history intersecting sounded absurd. It was as if the ghost of Desmond Armstrong (who is still very much alive) came down and blessed us with an idea.

Baseball, basketball and football have all commemorated the journeys of black athletes, from times that pre-date their respective leagues through segregation, the Civil Rights Era, into modern times. The stories range from harrowing accounts of prejudice overcome, to stories of players breaking out of neighborhoods birthed by decades of institutional racism, to stories about today’s players reaching back to uplift often-neglected communities some still call home. Quite simply, other sports, whether out of genuine reverence or pandering, have made strong efforts to recognize these points in history.

That isn’t the case with American soccer. For generations, soccer in this country has included millions of players and fans from across the Pan-African diaspora. A beautiful tapestry of cultures and experiences exists within soccer’s black population — diverse within itself, with roots reaching from the United States back to Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Volumes of books and hours of documentaries have been filled with facts and folklore from other sports, but somehow, our nearly 102-year-old national federation and 20-year-old league don’t seem to have any legends of their own. Why not?

That’s the question I asked myself several times. The first answer was invariably “because Major League Soccer didn’t appear until 1996.” The theory we could all easily believe is that by the time MLS came into our lives, America was already breathing in Clinton-era progress fumes and had planted the seeds of a mythical “post-racial America.” Black players were on the field from the league’s first day. MLS didn’t have its Jackie Robinson, because Eddie Pope’s 1996 was a different world in every way than Robinson’s 1947.

It’s easy to offer a “we don’t see color” excuse for all involved, but that’s nonsense. America lives for celebrations of hyphenated-Americanism and microculture. Highlighting our varied heritage is what we do best, and rightfully so. But there’s no denying that black fans and players are still seen as outliers in many circles, especially in insular communities. If the organizations that are the caretakers of the American game, or the outlets that cover it, do nothing to highlight the flaws in that theory, the perception will persist that black participants in American soccer culture are somehow alien.

MORE: Celebrating Black History Month: The story of Nutmeg Jenkins

But if you still buy into the notion of a post-racial American soccer, then you’ll have to explain MLS’s Latino del Año or the league’s Hispanic Heritage Nights. It isn’t as if the American soccer powers aren’t open to the idea of cultural acknowledgment, but search “Black History Month” on the league’s web siteand you’ll see its level of commitment.

All of this raises an interesting point about what American soccer can afford to ignore. On one hand, American soccer can’t ignore the contributions of Latinos, even if it did so in the past. And it would be a shame to ignore that history. Without a large enough market to appease, people seem to have no appetite for black contributions unless those contributions involve extremes, like poverty, violence, death threats and a lot of distance, whether physically distant (Europe) or temporally distant (the 1800s).

Perhaps it doesn’t help that the limited black soccer history that we know is recent, easily palatable, and probably, therefore, easy to ignore. Go farther back and it’s murky, without obvious heroes, and obscured by the neglect. That’s a perfect formula for a majority that wants to feel better about itself for being more tolerant people than its forefathers and foremothers.

If American soccer had a well-known figures who endured lives like Satchel Page, Jesse Owens or Jim Brown, or our treatment and view of the past would be greatly different. Those stories certainly existed in soccer, but no one seems to be telling them. History and the black player experience offers countless opportunities for conversations about racial and cultural identity, from developing youth through the MLS ranks, but we rarely hear them. In soccer, that history remains too obscure.

This week, we’ve chosen to close out and extend Black History Month by contributing in our own way. You may rub your chin in deep thought. You may laugh and wonder, “Am I allowed to think this is funny?” If we’re lucky, you’ll send us hate tweets, but as long as you watch — as long as you finally read and discuss — we’ll be one step further along.

Team Give & Go Mentor Nadia Gomes signs with Orlando Pride!

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With the 23rd pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft, the Orlando Pride selected Nadia Gomes, a forward from Brigham Young University.

Gomes is a dual national who holds citizenship with both the United States and Portugal, though she was born in the latter country. She has played internationally with the Portuguese U-19 women’s team.

“The women’s league is huge and I’m excited to play here,” Gomes said while coming off the draft stage in Philadelphia. “I’m really excited to learn from them (Alex Morgan and Marta) and play with them.”

Gomes has played all four years at BYU totaling 23 goals and 23 assists in 83 games (62 starts), and amassing close to 5,000 minutes in college. She’s known for her explosive speed and left foot. She has received various honors during her collegiate career, including NSCAA All-America Third Team in 2015, WCC Player of the Year in 2015, All-WCC Second Team in 2016, All-WCC Preseason Team in 2017, All-WCC Honorable Mention in 2017, WCC Player of the Week, and MAC Hermann Trophy preseason candidate in 2017.

Even though Gomes was a forward in college, she has the potential to shift to a wingback or fullback spot, which might be better suited for her abilities. With her left foot, it is very likely she could be competing at left back or left wing for the pride.

Unless there is a trade, the Pride are done selecting for the day, as Orlando entered this draft with only a third-rounder.

Here are some of her highlights:

Story by:  By David A. Gray

Building Young Soccer Player's Confidence

Building player confidence…

Does your child feel comfortable holding onto the ball when another player is quickly approaching them?  Or do they get nervous and quickly kick the ball away, more often resulting in an error or turnover? Your response to this question will provide you a better idea in regards to your child’s confidence while on the soccer field.

How do you suggest I build my players confidence?  That’s a good question, I’m glad you asked!  There are multiple options to help build your players confidence with the ball. 

Ensure that your child touches the soccer ball at least 15 minutes each day.  School teachers encourage a certain amount of reading or homework each day…you should apply a similar approach for player development or any activity that you want to continue improving.

1)     Work on Juggling a soccer ball

2)     Kick and receive a soccer ball off the wall

3)     Watch online instructional videos and practice what you learn (YouTube, online soccer academy, etc.)

4)     Sign up for group training sessions

5)     Parents watch child’s soccer training sessions and go home and work on the areas that you see need improvement.

6)     Hire a private trainer (groups of 2 or more tend to be more affordable)

7)     Watch a professional soccer game with your child so they can see how their position is supposed to play

Note:  The best players put in the extra work.  Team training along is not good enough. 

*There are free resources and costly resources.  Based on your circumstance (money, time, convenience, child’s personality), determine which options work best for your family.

Do you have any additional recommendations for building your players confidence?  Feedback/Input is welcome or contact us here.

We Belong!

I’m noticing a trend, and it bothers me!  Have you ever noticed that most team pictures viewed on social media always have minorities towards the end or in the back row?  Or, if there is more than one minority on the team, they are always standing or sitting together.  Have you visually seen minorities on a team appearing to be outcasts or off to their selves?  Why is it harder for minorities to transition onto a new team and feel as if they belong, especially when the majority of the team is of the white persuasion? 

When transitioning to a competitive team of skillful players, everyone has to prove they belong… just like Corporate America, minorities have to work harder to prove their worth, while still feeling like an outcast.  I’ve come to accept and deal with the obstacles that we as minorities face in corporate America, but It eats me up inside to witness our kids being excluded on a team, in a group, etc., especially when we know that they belong there just as much as the next kid.  How do you handle this?  I think everyone has to be intentional…I’ve had intentional discussions with team parents about building relationships amongst the kids.  Relationship building helps players get to know and trust each other both on and off the field, which produces a better performing team. 

When I was team manager of a very diverse team with less than a few white kids, I was very intentional about making the transition easy for both the parents and the player.  The coach, players and parents went out of their way to make the new player and their families feel welcome.  Whenever a new kid came to try out our team, the players stood in a circle and each introduced themselves, which not only helped them learn each other’s names, but made the new kid feel welcomed and more at ease. 

Some players and or families feel that they don’t have to be liked or need to engage with the team members or their families…but in my opinion, that’s not a good approach.  We should want our children to feel excited, comfortable and included when around their teammates, especially since they have to spend many hours training and competing together.   I don’t know…I’m a big advocate of inclusion, so maybe it doesn’t bother you as much...

Have you or your child experienced this?  If so, please provide some pointers as to how you or your child has overcome this and made the transition process easier.  WE ALL BELONG! Leave your comments here.

When Selecting The Right Team Is The Only Goal

Soccer Decisions

It was early December and rather than stressing over holiday plans and unnecessary gifts, our family was stressing over a potential transition from one soccer club with a coach who we basically grew up with to a team and coach we knew very little about. Who would have thought that a decision for an almost 9-year old would be one of the most stressful decisions that we would have to make?

Headaches, neck aches, sleepless nights and grueling hours of discussion are just a few things that took precedence over my life during December.  We scheduled family meetings to discuss the transition and the impact that it would have on everyone, we met with other families who were also considering a transition and we even had our daughter develop a pros and cons list on the transition.

We’re not at select age nor are we currently in line for a college scholarship. Insane, right? No, far from it. We are caring, supportive and competitive parents who understand the talent that our daughter has and want to ensure that she receives the best development opportunity to prepare her soccer longevity. Our efforts reinforced the importance of exploring options, identifying the best scenario at that moment in time and making a decision.

It also reinforced something to our daughter.  Commitment requires tough decisions, and throughout life, we all have decisions that need to be made and rather than avoid them, we embraced them together as a family.

As you can see from my experience, picking a soccer team can be a challenging decision, that if not considered carefully, can result in wasted time, effort, money and potentially diminished progress.  So, I’m going to give you a few things to consider when faced with this decision. Keep in mind that there may be different priorities set on each of the below items, but they should all be explored before final commitment.

1.     Are the coaches focused on winning or development? While we all love to win, developing youth at this age definitely takes precedence.

2.     The experience of the coaches. While I respect anyone that dedicates their time to the youth, one who has solid experience and have walked the journey themselves are more suitable for teaching.

3.     Does the club have a reputation for developing talented young players?

4.     Does your child fit into the culture of the team? Similar to starting a new job, during the interview process, we all ask about the culture of the environment. If this is so important to us as adults, why wouldn’t it be important for our kids. Accessing the culture of a team starts with questions such as:

a.     What is the philosophy of the coach?

b.     Are parents and their kids genuinely happy to be a part of the team, or isthere animosity over playing time?

c.     Are parents encouraging on the sidelines or do they put too much pressure on the kids?

d.     Are parents and kids willing to interact with each other outside of the soccer field?

e.     Are parents teaching their children to be selfish or team players?

f.      Do players encourage one another to do their best?

5.     Will your child receive adequate touches and play time to further their development? If your child is on a great team but never sees the field, then what good is that doing for your child’s confidence.

6.     Does the team have like minded parents and competitive players? Being the best on a team of weaker players won’t help your child’s development, but selecting a team with other good to great players will challenge and push your child to achieve greatness.

7.     Parent comradery? In the most simplistic view, do you enjoy the other parents on the sideline with you? Considering that at this age and older, you’re likely to spend a minimum of three days a week with this group.

8.     Personal lifestyle impact? What are you giving up to accommodate the transition? Will the transition impact the home front, and if so, how? Happy parents make happy kids.

If you are in the process of deciding on a new team and want to share any insights and / or have any questions for our team, please feel free drop us a note on our “Contact” page.

Summer Break Should Mean Soccer Break

Summer Break – Soccer Break

My daughter finished her LAST exam a few weeks ago. Don’t we all remember that rush of adrenaline as we did the same when we were kids?  That feeling of freedom that comes with the notion of having absolutely no school work to do is certainly a memorable one.

I have to say, I am probably as excited about her LAST ECNL games next week as much as the last final.

I am looking forward to my child having some downtime from the rather constant physical demands she has experienced since last August 6 when her “Pre-Season” began. Clearly soccer is not school, but I want her to experience a similar feeling of freedom to relax at the end of her season just as she did with the completion of her last exam.

Quite simply, our elite soccer players need a break – physically and mentally - from the game. Read more...

Filed Under: Soccer, burnout