Sampson quietly takes world stage
By Jennifer Beekman (The Gazette)After three years leading the Seneca Valley girls soccer team, junior midfielder Jasmine Sampson is no longer a secret. No matter how much she wants to be.
The Trinidad and Tobago U-17 national team has discovered her; she played for them over the summer. But Sampson, ever-reluctant to take center stage, was hesitant about telling her coaches and teammates.
"Even when people bring it up, she shies away from it; she does not like all the attention," Screaming Eagles coach Claude Sayag said. "[Playing for Trinidad and Tobago] is a great opportunity for her to see what else is out there. People do not realize she is only 15 years old. To play with all this pressure, and she does not show it. She does not act like she is better than anyone else."
Opponents do; when they play the Eagles, they focus on shutting Sampson down. Still, she has tallied 7 goals and 5 assists in five games this season.
And while Sampson does shy away from the accolades, she also relishes leading her younger teammates. She enjoys doing what she can to help them grow as soccer players.
"It is really different; last year there were a few teams that put two or more people on me, but now I notice that it is a lot more," Sampson said. "I always hear my number, like, ‘Get No. 15.' It is frustrating but then it gives my other teammates a chance. They can do it themselves; they do not need me. I can help them but when they get the ball by themselves they can do it…
"I do not want [my teammates] to think it is only about me. Soccer is a team sport. It is the whole team at Seneca Valley. But I am a captain and I want them to be able to look up to me."
Soccer is in Sampson's blood. Her father Ivan played for the Trinidad and Tobago youth national team; Sampson herself qualifies to play for the team because her father is a citizen. He played four years at James Madison (Va.) University, then professionally with the Maryland Mania before opening up his own business, training teams and individuals and running soccer camps.
Sampson grew up around the sport and always aspired to follow in her father's footsteps.
"I would go to his warm-ups when he was playing professionally and they would let me sit in the circle and they would pass the ball around me," Sampson said. "I like how you can make a name for yourself through a sport. I like how no game is ever the same and you can always learn. Even if you have a good game there is still something you can learn. Soccer has been a big part of my life and I want to play as long as I can."
This summer was a big step in Sampson's career. She was exposed to different styles of play. American soccer, she said, is more possession-oriented, while a lot of international play is more direct.
Sampson has become a more dynamic player since her time with Trinidad and Tobago. Coaches there helped point out the importance of the defensive aspect of her position in midfield.
With success comes sacrifice, however. Sampson will miss Seneca Valley's Homecoming this weekend for her national team's monthly practice, this one in Alabama. And that is just the start.
It helps, she said, to have a father who can relate to what she is going through, missing time with her friends and normal teenage milestones.
But it is all part of a long-term plan: Playing professional soccer.
"In our game against Watkins Mill [Sept. 21] Jasmine was ready to take a free kick and I told her to go toward the goal," Sayag said. "Most girls of her caliber would have had a problem with that. She did not give me any attitude; just listened and went there. [Danni MacKenzie] put a beautiful shot into the upper 90. And Jasmine was the first person to run to her and congratulate her."
