Pros

Busy Parkhurst ready for new season By Andrew Hush
March 3, 2007

On and off the field, Michael Parkhurst has a spring in his step. Following a busy off-season that saw the 23-year-old defender make trips to England with a Generation Adidas squad and California for his first experience of national team duty, Parkhurst took an even bigger step in his personal life when he got engaged.

Now fully ensconced in pre-season training with the Revolution, the Rhode Islander reflected on the developments in his soccer life over the winter months and agreed that his increased activity was in direct contrast to the off-season between his first and second years as a professional.

Michael Parkhurst (Photo by Chris Aduama)

“I didn't get as much rest as I did the previous season but hopefully I will be able to take care of my body throughout the pre-season and make it last.”

After traveling to England in November, Parkhurst joined up with the USA's training camp in January. The experience, he admits, was somewhat bittersweet. On the one hand, it was a chance to measure himself at the next level, although he was hoping to have seen some playing time in the friendlies against Denmark and Mexico.

“It was a great experience and I learned a lot while I was out there. The competition was really high so it was awesome to play. I was upset not to dress for either of the games but sometimes decisions don't go your way. I want to get into the next camp and try and prove myself again.”

Although Bob Bradley may still need convincing that he is ready for the international game, Parkhurst's club coach is in no doubt.

“I would have played him! Everybody is different and sees things in different ways,” said Steve Nicol on Friday. “I would like to have seen him play with the national team. I think that, with the quality he has, the way he reads the game and his ability on the ball, he would step in and do well.”

Parkhurst is known for his calmness and composure on the field and Nicol believes that those qualities will have helped him with the challenges he faced in recent months:

“He takes everything in his stride. You could plant him anywhere in the world on a team and he would do well. Obviously, it was a good experience for him.”

After playing every minute of every game in his Rookie of the Year-winning season in 2005, Parkhurst was struck down during pre-season in 2006 by a thigh injury that prevented him from playing in the Revolution's opening two games of the season. This year, he is hoping for better luck:

“Last year was awful. You go in trying to get fit and into the swing of things and I was out for a while. This year, I came in fit because of the national team and was ready to go. Playing was definitely an advantage, fitness-wise.”

Although his age may suggest that he remains one of the Revolution's younger generation, there is no doubt that Parkhurst is one of the key men in the squad, just over two years in to his professional career. Given that, he is happy to be seen as setting an example to those that have followed him from college into MLS and he encourages the new boys to be themselves:

“There are little things that you aren't told coming in as a rookie, on the field and off the field, so you help them to adjust. A lot of it is mental: getting used to the pace of the game and getting over mistakes.

“Everybody brings something different to the table and I am sure that will come out if it hasn't already. I was a quiet guy so I didn't impose myself physically – I think I proved myself in other ways – but everybody is a little bit different. The team adjusts to everybody and individuals adjust to the team.”

Of course, Parkhurst needed no introduction to two of the Revs class of 2007. Like him and James Riley, Wells Thompson and Ryan Solle are fellow Wake Forest alums and Parkhurst is excited to have a couple more Demon Deacons in the Revs fold:

“They had asked us a little bit throughout last year but I didn't know they were that high on these guys going into the draft. We had rumors that we might get one Wake guy but to get two was just crazy.”

There is something very understated about the way Michael Parkhurst carries himself. His is a quiet manner but do not be fooled, for underneath the calm exterior is the fierce competitive spirit of a man who is determined to help his club reach the top this year.

Should he do so, international honors are bound to follow, meaning that wedding date might be a little harder to schedule.