Contributing ‘fine, educated touch,' Ndiaya finds niche as new member of varsity soccer

Silver cleats dance like drops of mercury under the stadium lights as junior striker Papes Ndiaya capers down the field. His gleaming shoes blur into a single bright streak as he breaks abruptly after the ball, showcasing the "zero to warp-nine" acceleration that Coach Adrian Baez calls visibly impressive to watch.

With eight regular-season goals, Ndiaya emerged from oblivion this year as one of Blair soccer's top two scoring presences, along with senior Dennis Salgado. Baez praises Ndiaya's speed and "fine, educated touch on the ball" as part of the "African Game" that the Senegalese Ndiaya and a handful of other African players bring to Blair soccer.

"They like to dribble a lot," says senior co-captain Will Whitney of the team's African players. "It's kind of fancy, but it's effective."

Whitney attributes Ndiaya's standout finishing ability to his superior conditioning and desire for the ball. "When a lot of people would stop running," says Whitney, "he gets there, and he ends up being in the right place at the right time."

According to Baez, Ndiaya's superior athleticism enables him to distribute the ball well on offense. "I've got him up front because of his height and his speed," says Baez. "And man, can he jump."

Ndiaya has an aesthetically striking and dramatic style of play that was noted in an edition of the Silver Spring Gazette. In an Oct 2 game where he scored the winning goal against Springbrook, Ndiaya also made a visually fantastic near-miss bicycle kick. "He rose up in the air like a giant with those big legs and shot a looper that the goalkeeper stopped," Baez recalls.

"When I started walking, I started playing soccer," says Ndiaya, who immigrated to America from Senegal in August 2002. Ndiaya calls
Senegal a "country for soccer," where he played every day after school and all the time during the summer, starting organized soccer at the age of 12.

With no shirts, no shoes and rocks for goal posts, neighborhood pickup soccer in the open fields of Senegal constituted "the best moments of my life," says Ndiaya. Playing with his childhood friends, he says, was like playing with brothers, united by a common language and love for soccer.

Ndiaya says his greatest on-field frustration stems from his anger at opponents who play badly, trying to hurt other players In Senegal, competitors find it easier to leave animosity on the field, he says. Baez notes that Ndiaya always behaves like a gentleman to his opponents. "Not a bad word comes from his mouth," says Baez.

"I try to keep my anger in and not fight," says Ndiaya, "because I am a nice dude."

Ndiaya jogs off the field to the raucous applause of the crowd, the flashing of his cleats competing with the brilliance of his smile. "I love soccer," he says. "Soccer is my life."