How plastic paper ball inspired Kenyan MLS star to pro football

Kenyan midfielder Leroy Enzugusi opened up on how a plastic paper ball set the tone for him into professional soccer during his trip back to the country back in 2007.

Enzugusi and his parents moved to South Africa where they were lucky to win the Green Card lottery and were selected to go to the USA in 2006.

The 21-year-old who was recently part of three Kenyans selected in the 2021 Major Soccer League (MLS) draft joined Nashville FC.

During his visit back to Kenya in 2007, Enzugusi traded a regular ball for the plastic paper ball as he thought the ball would help him become as good as the boys who played it.

"I was like, 'Maybe if I use this ball, I'll be as good as they were. Maybe if I don't play with my shoes, I'll be as good as they are."

"It's just like a smaller ball. It's not perfect when you kick it in the air so you have to adjust your foot in a perfect way. It's all about your first touch in soccer. So, that just cleans your first touch. So, then, when you go to a perfect ball, it's easy,” explained Enzugusi in an interview with Des Moines.

The one month trip to visit his uncle and aunt in Kenya had a lasting impact on the winger as he abandoned his American football and basketball dream for soccer.

His mother Sibil however discouraged him from registering for a Kenyan club despite Enzugusi being ready to give it a shot.

“He took a soccer ball and he had cleats on with him because we told him soccer there was big. So he was ready. He said he was going to go to a club. (He said) 'I want to play' and we kept telling him, 'There's really no club. There's no organized club’,” she said. 

To date, Enzugusi still has the soccer ball he got in during his trip to Kenya and is well on course to realise his professional dream after being selected in the SuperDraft by MLS side Nashville FC.