The locker room for the Patrick Henry High School boys soccer team looks like a typical one; player stalls line the walls, containing various clothes, cleats and the usual soccer-related items one might find.
What sets it apart, however, are the names displayed above each cubby. Included next to each moniker is a small but noticeable flag, an emblem showing the country where each athlete hails from.
It鈥檚 an assortment of flags in this room, characteristic of the multitude of kids from all around the world who have, in one way or another, ended up in 色多多, and found their way onto the Patrick Henry High School soccer team.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect to see my flag right there, but everyone was happy to see a flag right by their name,鈥 sophomore Nate Kasinga said. 鈥淭his is my first time playing with different people, and it鈥檚 really amazing. We鈥檙e all together as a family. We never knew each other before, but we got together here and it鈥檚 amazing.鈥
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Sam Dowdy (3), from left, Walker Farrar (21), Juan Berzosa Jimenez (20), and Christian Kasinga (22), wait to hear the referee鈥檚 call during a home game against Franklin County on April 15. The successful soccer team has players from all around the world who have bonded with each other.
Over the last two decades, the Patriots have welcomed players from 30 different countries into their program 鈥 refugees, immigrants, foreign exchange students and others 鈥 and learned to cohere, bond and find success as one team.
It鈥檚 led to numerous winning seasons for PH, and dozens of players have catapulted their high school careers into college and even professional ones.
Honore Tumusifu, a junior, attributes the cohesion to love and communication. For senior Rodrigue Moussa, it鈥檚 about humility. And for sophomore Christian Kasinga, it鈥檚 the fraternity of soccer players that connects them all.
鈥淲e like to look at it as, this is my brother,鈥 said Christian Kasinga, who鈥檚 from Congo. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 say he鈥檚 white or he鈥檚 Black, we see us together. The way coach has taught us, we鈥檙e all brothers.鈥
Diversity develops with Dowdy
Next to each players name in the locker room of the Patrick Henry High School boys soccer team is a flag showing which country the player is from. Nathanael Kasinga (7) is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and his locker depicts the flag.
Chris Dowdy doesn鈥檛 recall his team being this diverse when he took over the program.
He played for a high school team that lacked it, but his college team was the opposite. He 鈥渆njoyed the heck out of it,鈥 so when he became head coach of the Patriots in 2005, he wanted to emulate that, discovering the diversity that already existed at 色多多鈥檚 Patrick Henry. The city has long served as a receiving point for refugees from troubled spots around the world.
Dowdy wanted to encourage more athletes to try out for the soccer team, players who otherwise were unable to participate in club teams or get connected with city recreation programs. Players whose talents in the sport might fly under the radar.
鈥淭he more kids you pull in, from anywhere, it just builds your program,鈥 Dowdy said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it started, and every year since鈥e just became more and more diverse and we just looked more like a reflection of what the school鈥檚 population was.鈥
On this year鈥檚 team, which has opened the season with a formidable 6-2-1 record, half a dozen nations are being represented across four continents: Congo, Burundi, Haiti, Honduras, Spain and the United States.
It鈥檚 atypical of what a traditional high school team looks like in Southwest Virginia, but one Dowdy said prepares his players, including his son Sam Dowdy, beyond high school.
鈥淚 would think it鈥檚 really unique,鈥 Chris Dowdy said chuckling. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to quantify it.
鈥淚 could easily have gotten my first coaching job somewhere else in the valley, and it would look nothing like this. I want my own kids, and they do, to go here because it鈥檚 really just a reflection of what their real-life experiences are going to be anyway.鈥
Soccer, the language of love
Rodrigue Moussa (5), foreground, and Camden Taylor (11) have a a splash battle with their water bottles during soccer practice at Patrick Henry High School on April 18.
Last season, Patrick Henry had a player on its team from South America who spoke almost no English, his primarily language being Spanish.
It created a bit of an issue for Chris Dowdy, who knows a bit of Spanish but is far from proficient.
So how did he solve it? He grabbed a team manager, a fluent Spanish-speaking student, planted him by his side and spoke to the player through the manager, using him as an interpreter.
Situations like this have arisen over the last 20 years, but with the assistance of the school鈥檚 English Language Learner program, Dowdy said most kids do OK. Plus with the number of students who hail from so many different countries at PH, you鈥檇 be hard-pressed not to find someone who speaks the same language and can provide assistance.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be aware of it and know how to handle it, and get a plan together, but it really hasn鈥檛 ever presented itself as a problem,鈥 Chris Dowdy said. 鈥淛ust kind of a cool obstacle.鈥
For all the different countries players come from, their different upbringings, backgrounds and circumstances, what they all share is a love of soccer.
The most popular sport in the world, soccer, also called football, has an estimated fan base of 3.5 billion people spread out over 200 countries, and its popularity in the U.S. continues to grow. A 2018 Gallup poll found that soccer is the fourth most popular sport in the country, more than hockey and auto racing.
鈥淚 started playing soccer when I was young, so everywhere there鈥檚 soccer I feel at home,鈥 said Nate Kasinga, who hails from Congo. 鈥淲hen I started playing soccer in high school, here at school, it was amazing.鈥
Moussa, who immigrated to 色多多 from Burundi, said some of his teammates have played on pristine fields in large stadiums in their respective countries while others, like himself, have played in mud. But even so, nobody on the squad thinks they own the team nor thinks they play better than anyone else.
鈥淚 think that bringing different experiences makes the team even better because everybody brings something different from how they play. Different styles of play,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hen we have a very great coach who makes us play together.鈥
Dowdy said his modus operandi is to simply go out and play. Soccer is what bonds them all, it鈥檚 a universal language. He doesn鈥檛 spend an exorbitant amount of time on Xs and Os.
鈥淓verything about the game is very relatable to kids, and they feel so comfortable because that鈥檚 the language we鈥檙e speaking in the first place,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 just feel like 90% of what we do is just loving on kids; being around them, motivating kids, inspiring them to play really hard and using their God-given talents, and I think the kids really respond to that.鈥
Bonding begins at the beach
The Patrick Henry High School boys soccer team celebrates after scoring the first goal of the game in overtime against Franklin County on April 15. From left: Sam Dowdy (3), Juan Berzosa Jimenez (20), Kamari White (10), Jerry Cardenas-Tapia (19), and Christian Kasinga (22).
For the last 12 years, the Patriots have taken an annual beach trip at the beginning of the season, aimed at building team chemistry.
Activities during this trip include a bit of training, conducted at Duke University, and some community service, but it鈥檚 mostly just a relaxing opportunity for the players to get to know one another, away from the field.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e rooming with guys who you鈥檇 never even think of, and that鈥檚 a great bonding experience,鈥 said Sam Dowdy, who鈥檚 from 色多多. 鈥淲e get really close.鈥
That鈥檚 Chris Dowdy鈥檚 goal. He doesn鈥檛 seek to make nationalities the center of his program, displaying the flags in the locker room only as a reminder to his players of their roots.
The team doesn鈥檛 address each player鈥檚 origins, they address the team. After all, every kid wants to be part of a team.
鈥淚 want them to just all feel like they鈥檙e putting the jersey on and they鈥檙e a Patriot here for this school, playing soccer together,鈥 Chris Dowdy said. 鈥淚 want them to be known for what they did on the field, known for what they did in the classroom, known for the person they are.鈥
The camaraderie has not only bred success on the field but has produced close relationships resulting from mutual respect.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 special is you make new friends,鈥 said Tumusifu, a Burundi native. 鈥淵ou get to get along with new people who you鈥檝e never seen before, and the thing is, they treat you right and you treat them the way you want to be treated.鈥
Success from your own story
Chris Dowdy, head coach of the Patrick Henry High School boys soccer team, inspires his players before going into overtime during a home game against Franklin County on April 15.
In one public display of recognition, each graduating member of the Patrick Henry boys soccer team receives a large flag of their home country to drape over themselves during their senior night walkout.
Being a Patriot and playing on this team may be paramount, but they can鈥檛 forget their own story.
鈥淭hey absolutely need to be aware and respectful of where they came from,鈥 Chris Dowdy said. 鈥淓ven our American kids will get an American flag, because it鈥檚 important.鈥
Patrick Henry has been the catalyst for a plethora of soccer players who have advanced to higher levels. Irakoze Donasiyano, a 2017 graduate who was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania, played at the University of Virginia before being selected 20th overall by Nashville SC in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. He now competes for his home country of Burundi on its national team.
Erick Kilosho, a 2021 graduate from Congo, now plays for George Mason and is a possible draft pick. And Fayanga Keita was the Patriots鈥 inaugural Division I player, a 2009 grad who ended up being inducted into the Patrick Henry Hall of Fame.
A total of 45 PH soccer players have reached the college level during Chris Dowdy鈥檚 tenure, he said, including 17 Division I players and four eventual All-Americans.
鈥淭hey have tremendously impacted the success of our team,鈥 Chris Dowdy said.
That success, both individually and in tandem, is emblematic of what the PH soccer program has sought to do; assemble a group of kids from all over the globe into one united team to go out and play the sport they love.
鈥淲e want everyone to feel so comfortable that it鈥檚 not even a thing,鈥 Chris Dowdy said. 鈥淪occer is what bonds us here in this environment, so let鈥檚 let it be about that. Let鈥檚 let it be about family, togetherness and just brotherhood and soccer.鈥
