Ching balancing MLS, World Cup pursuit

Eddy Birrer remembers watching Brian Ching play during his senior season in 2000. Birrer, a Gonzaga accounting professor, was taking in the game with his colleague, Professor Ken Anderson. Both were enamored with Ching's ability.

"Am I imagining things?" Birrer recalls hearing from Anderson. "Or is Ching a step faster than everyone else?"

The remark wasn't indicative of Ching's pure speed, but instead his apparent soccer savvy. And throughout his topsy-turvy career — an odyssey that includes rejection, crippling injuries, a lengthy stint in Major League Soccer and a spot on the U.S. National Team — the Hawaii native hasn't always been equipped with the raw skills many players at his level have. Regardless, the current Houston Dynamo striker has elevated his game to national prominence. And with his potential participation in the 2010 World Cup looming, Ching has emerged as arguably the most heralded soccer alumnus in school history. 

Hawaiian surprise

Right now, he's a 31-year-old veteran with countless accolades: MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2004, MLS Cup Most Valuable Player in 2006 and in the same year his wild bicycle kick was dubbed MLS Goal of the Year. He's also notched a four-goal game, a feat just six others have accomplished. Add to that list 10 international goals in 43 appearances since 2003, and it's been a well-rounded career.

It was a humble beginning for Ching who was born and raised in Hale'iwa, Hawaii. Growing up, soccer was not the predominant youth sport in his hometown. Some played football, others played basketball and everybody surfed.

"When I went away to Gonzaga, I could count the number of kids on one hand that went to Division I schools," Ching said, admitting that nowadays soccer has become the state's No. 1 youth sport.

But Gonzaga Head Coach Einar Thorarinsson always recruited Hawaiian soccer players, and when Ching's youth team traveled to Boise, Idaho, for a regional tournament during the mid-90s, the coach was impressed.

"His movement away from the ball was advanced," said Thorarinsson, who's coached the Bulldogs since 1995, including Ching's five years (1996-2000).

Ching's rise to stardom was not immediate, either. After a knee injury spoiled his 1998 campaign, he rebounded the following year with 13 goals and eight assists as a redshirt junior, a year after which many believed he had professional upside.

"It was nice to see someone who put so much work in get rewarded," Thorarinsson said.

"I wasn't always the most talented," said Ching, a 2000 Gonzaga alumnus. "I was the most determined."

An eight-goal senior season capped off a five-year Bulldog career in which Ching finished first all-time in assists (23), third in goals scored (34) and second in points compiled (91). Soon after, the Los Angeles Galaxy drafted Ching in the second round of the 2001 MLS Draft. He became the first Hawaiian-born draftee and at the time, the only Bulldog in the league. After nearly two decades in Hawaii and five years in Spokane — both comparatively small soccer communities — his voyage to the pros was predictably bumpy.

"It was a big jump for me, one I wasn't immediately prepared for," Ching said

He scored one goal in eight games as a rookie before his release in 2002. After a season with the Seattle Sounders (A-League), the San Jose Earthquakes drafted Ching in the 2003 MLS Supplemental Draft. His season was cut short when he ruptured his right Achilles tendon, but he bounced back the following year and was named Comeback Player of the Year. The Earthquakes moved to Houston in 2006 and Ching has been there ever since.

He attributes a lot his success to his time spent at Gonzaga.

"He got me to start being more of a soccer player," Ching said of Thorarinsson, who had him watch film and study the game. "He's a big part of why I'm here today."

Playing the ‘biggest game in the world'

About 80,000 miles.

That's how much Ching estimates he's traveled this calendar year. In August, he played a World Cup qualification match in Mexico and in August he did the same in Spain; with the Dynamo he crisscrosses the country and even ventures into Canada.

It's a year-round affair for Ching. On Jan. 4 he rejoins the U.S National Team and in Feburary Houston's preseason commences.

Ching is one of roughly 30 players Head Coach Bob Bradley has used during qualifier matches — the roster will eventually be trimmed to 23 before the World Cup begins June 10 in South Africa.

"I have a good shot as along as I continue to play well and perform well," Ching said.

Ching is the first Hawaiian and just the second Chinese-American to crack the national team.

"It's every soccer player's dream to represent your country," Ching said.

While interest in soccer often fluctuates in America, the World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world; more than 700 million viewers world wide watched the 2006 final. That global enthusiasm, Ching says, continues to permeate America.

"I think it's slowly growing," Ching said, who notes that it's become the No. 1 youth sport in America. "It's the world's biggest game. Down the road, soccer may be the biggest  [in America]."

 The Dynamo were eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs with a loss to Los Angeles on Nov. 14. Ching's offseason will last about a month.

"I like to travel to places I haven't been, do a little surfing, replenish the soul," said Ching of his December plans, which also includes a trip back to Hawaii.