Chinn not overworking himself before MLS combine

In one sentence, Stanford goalkeeper John Moore accurately summed up what he and the other 74 college players will be facing this weekend at the pressure-packed adidas MLS Player Combine.

“One or two mistakes could be the difference between a long illustrious career and something that dies out in a few weeks,” Moore said.

Yeah, so no pressure.

It seems unfair that a lifetime of working towards a goal will to some degree hinge upon three matches, but that will be the case when the MLS hopefuls break into four teams and play it out beginning Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

With the coaching and management staffs of all 16 MLS teams in attendance, and the hopes and dreams of each athlete being played out, the MLS Player Combine is always guaranteed to be a passion-filled few days.

The players are anticipating as much.

“I’m guessing that the first game in particular there will be a lot of nerves in the first five minutes or so,” Moore said. “Guys will be going hard, everyone has been playing years for this. I’m excited; I feel prepared.”

Like Moore, Conor Chinn, of San Francisco, has been building up to this weekend with surgical training. Both players were teammates for the Orange County Blue Star in last weekend’s scrimmage that pitted college seniors against the U.S. U18 boys’ national camp squad.   

For Chinn, the key has been balancing his training sessions and not overexerting himself.

“I’ve had friends who have gone to the combine in the past and gotten hurt right away because they were training too hard leading up to the event,” Chinn said. “So right now I’m just trying to get into the right state of mind and get the right amount of rest so that I don’t play too excited.”

It will be a tricky balance for every player involved: playing poised while competing with personality; being vocal but not too overbearing. Every player will be trying to fit in while proving that they’re a standout.

“The ideal scenario is that I would score in every game,” Chinn said. “Hopefully I’ll be able get into the right positions at the right time and showcase my finishing ability, speed and power.

Moore added, “I pride myself on my ability to learn and command a defense and work hard. I know that my game isn’t at the top level already because if it was I wouldn’t need to be at the combine.

“Really, I just want to win every game. I think that’ll be the easiest way to get looked at.”

MLS PLAYER COMBINE GAME SCHEDULE

All times eastern and schedule is subject to change. All games will be held on the Main Event Field

Saturday, January 9
3:00 p.m.   Predator X vs. Jabulani 4:45 p.m.   Condivo vs. F50i
Sunday, January 10
2:00 p.m.   Predator X vs. Condivo 3:45 p.m.   F50i vs. Jabulani
Tuesday, January 12
9:30 a.m.   Jabulani vs. Condivo 11:15 a.m.   Predator X vs. F50i

ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE TEAMS

Team Jabulani Olukorede Aiyegbusi (NC State) Kris Banghart (Denver) Teal Bunbury (Akron) Ben Clack (St. John's) Dilly Duka (Rutgers) David Estrada (UCLA) Two-Boys Gumede (UAB) Brooks Haggerty (North Carolina) Kyle Nakazawa (UCLA) Mike Pezza (Connecticut) Zack Schilawski (Wake Forest) Chris Schuler (Creighton) Toni Stahl (Connecticut) Kevin Tangney (Maryland) Collen Warner (Portland) Adam Welch (Lehigh University) Jason Yeisley (Penn State) Amobi Okugo (UCLA) Coaches: Jorge Salcedo (UCLA) and Nathan Williams (Placer United Soccer Club)

Team Predator X Andre Akpan (Harvard) Samuel Appiah (Boston University) Chad Borak (Cal State Northridge) Jovan Bubonja (UIC) Conor Chinn (San Francisco) Austin da Luz (Wake Forest) Phil Edginton (Louisville) Mauro Fuzetti (Michigan) Blair Gavin (Akron) Nane Joseph (Old Dominion) Jack McInerney (U-17 MNT) Joseph (JT) Noone (Temple) Kwaku Nyamekye (Harvard) Tim Ream (St. Louis(m)) Mike Seamon (Villanova) Seth Sinovic (Creighton) Michael Stephens (UCLA) Corben Bone (Wake Forest) Coaches: Matthew Spear (Davidson) and Brad Wylde (Charlotte Soccer Academy)

Team F50i Nelson Becerra (St. John's) Ronnie Bouemboue (NC State) Nick Cardenas (San Diego State) Justin Davis (New Mexico) Irving Garcia (UC Irvine) Martin Hedevag (UC Santa Barbara) Zachary Herold (U-17 MNT) Sean Johnson (UCF) Ross LaBauex (Virginia) Tennant McVea (Loyola Marymount) Pascal Milien (Tampa) John Moore (Stanford) Danny Mwanga (Oregon State) Conor O'Brien (Bucknell) Ofori Sarkodie (Indiana) David Walker (UC Santa Barbara) Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Connecticut) Andrew Wiedeman (California) Drew Yates (Maryland) Coaches: Bob Gray (Marshall) and Larry Sunderland (Chicago Fire)

Team Condivo Eric Alexander (Indiana) Tyler Barry (California) Fred Braun (Louisville) Bright Dike (Notre Dame) Julien Edwards (Drake) Nick Elenz-Martin (Brown) Andrew Hoxie (William & Mary(m)) Steven Kinney (Elon) Isaac Kissi (Dayton) Zach Loyd (North Carolina) Justin Morrow (Notre Dame) Ike Opara (Wake Forest) Brian Perk (UCLA) Ryan Peterman (San Diego) Tony Tchani (Virginia) Michael Thomas (Notre Dame) Steffen Vroom (DePaul) Othaniel Yanez (Louisville) Coaches: Michael Noonan (Brown) and Leigh Cowlishaw (Richmond Kickers)