Brek Shea

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Shea Hoping 2012 Campaign Tops Standout Year In 2011

PHOENIX – Plenty of pundits would say midfielder Brek Shea had a fairy tale season last year, but Shea himself isn’t so sure.

It’s not that he doesn’t think he had a good 2011 – even the most enterprising scriptwriter would be content with Shea’s campaign, in which the 21-year-old midfielder (and painter extraordinaire) played his way onto short lists for MLS MVP and made an impact in several national team matches.

It’s just that Shea’s seen this one before.

“I think every sport you hear of people that do good and get hype, and then you never hear from them again,” he said after a weekend training session.

As Shea notes, soccer doesn’t have a monopoly on flare outs from young stars, but it’s probably the industry leader. Whether it’s the sport’s unique player development system, the intense pressure rabid supporters put on young players or the high volume of competition from others, the beautiful game has an ugly history of failed pros who were destined to be stars.

Brek Shea wants to make sure he’s not part of that history.

“I just want to build on what I did last year. I think the year before that people were talking about how I had a really good year. Now this year was really good, so hopefully this time next year they’re saying I had a really good last year,” he said “I just want to build every year and get better and learn, in these camps and in camps with the other guys that are playing Europe.”

One of those Americans playing in Europe serves as inspiration for Shea as he seeks to block out the adoration around him.

“I mean look at (Clint) Dempsey right now, he just scored a hat trick (Saturday),” Shea said. “I don’t think he lets the hype get to him. I think he’s a big role model to everyone on the national team in the U.S. He just stays humble and he plays for his family and the country. Learning from him is a big help.”

If Shea achieves his goal of having an even better year in 2012 than he did in 2011, this current national team camp might be the last January camp Shea attends for a while. He’s frequently the subject of transfer talk, and all signs point to Shea joining Dempsey, his fellow Texan, playing club football on European soil.

That talk hasn’t exactly been silenced this offseason, as Shea spent a couple of weeks in London training with Arsenal of the English Premier League.

That training is another experience Shea believes will help him stay in the conscience of American soccer fans as one of the greats instead of another could’ve been.

“I think it helped me tremendously,” Shea said of the training. “I learned a lot while I was there just training with those guys and being around them every day. Just the level that was expected every time you train was tremendous, and I think I picked up a lot on it and hopefully it shows.”

The bad news for opponents? Shea also credits some of his success in 2011 picking up on things in national team camp.

“I think I was just getting more comfortable,” he said. “I’ve had a couple caps under me. I’ve had a couple International games, I’m getting used to the speed of the game.

“I had been in the league, played a couple times in the league, getting used to it and obviously getting more comfortable. And when you get more comfortable I think you can play to your abilities.”

Shea won’t be flying under the radar in 2012 – especially if he helps the U.S. Olympic team get to London and plays on the world stage. Defenders will seek to make him as uncomfortable as possible, but that’s fine with Shea. His goal for the new year is to be the kind of threat other teams seek to stop.

“I just want to be continuous – to be a threat all game instead of just creating a couple of chances,” he said. “I know at the International level you really can only get a couple chances, but I want to be a big threat all game and someone other teams look out for.”