School: Upper Moreland
Soccer
Favorite athlete: Messi
Favorite team: Barcelona
Favorite memory competing in sports: Scoring the only goal in my first varsity game as a freshman
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Being offsides during a punt by the keeper!
Music on iPod: All sorts, mostly rap and hip-hop
Future plans: Attend college and hopefully play soccer there
Words to live by: “Treat others as you would like to be treated.”
One goal before turning 30: Become a doctor or at least in the process
One thing people don’t know about me: I am multilingual.
By Alex Frazier
They don’t get much better than Menvekah Daramay.
The Upper Moreland senior has started every varsity soccer game since he was a freshman.
He is in his third year as captain of the Golden Bears’ soccer team.
And he has been a first-team all-league selection the past two years and was on the second team his freshman year.
As a freshman striker, he broke into the Suburban One League with 15 goals and 13 assists.
Coach Jack Knauss has been grooming Daramay as a captain ever since he was in 10th grade.
“He had that kind of leadership when he was a sophomore,” said Knauss. “He’s the grease that gets our wheels turning.”
Knauss’ strategy paid off. After a year of being captain along with two seniors, Daramay has become an invaluable team leader. When Knauss needs to get something done, he goes to Daramay.
“I talk to him about it and he’ll find a way to get it done,” said Knauss. “It’s always good to have someone in there who they respect and will listen to.”
As good as Daramay is, he doesn’t fall prey to “stardom.”
“He understands his role,” said Knauss. “He understands that sometimes he’ll take a back seat and give the accolades to Tommy Hays or Johnny Baez. He’s smart enough to understand that without having an ego problem.”
“I’m approachable to them,” said Daramay. “I don’t tell people what to do if I don’t do it myself. It would be hypocritical of me.”
•••
Daramay was born in Guinea and immigrated to this country when he was 10 years old as part of a United Nations program.
Imagine the culture shock he must have felt upon arriving here. He couldn’t speak English, and he didn’t know a soul.
Daramay recalls arriving here on July 3, the day before this country’s grand independence celebration.
“I’ll never forget the festivities,” he said. “I wondered if it was always like that.”
Fortunately, he was placed with a set of foster parents, George and Grace Haegele, who had already been in a foster program. They took him under their wing and guided him through the formative years of his life.
“They’re great people and understand how important he is,” said Knauss. “They’ve always set a good example for him. They’re blessed, and he’s blessed as well.”
Daramay spent a lot of that first summer in front of the TV, which helped him learn the language.
“If I had just jumped into the school year, everything would have been progressing too fast,” he said. “I had time to settle in.”
One day Daramay discovered some soccer balls in the garage.
“My eyes lit up,” he said.
He immediately picked up a ball and started playing in the backyard.
Clearly, Daramay had played soccer in his native country.
Lots of it.
“That was the only thing that didn’t change from there to here,” he said.
In Guinea he played in the front yard, and there was no grass because he and his friends played there so often.
“I played all the time,” he said.
Leagues over there were informal, mostly organized by the players with little or no adult supervision.
“We just went and played our games,” he said. “Adults didn’t really care.”
Neighborhood kids would form a team and play others from surrounding neighborhoods.
Occasionally there would be a tournament.
The fields were small and players competed in bare feet or with regular shoes. No cleats. No sneakers.
His foster parents immediately recognized his skill and signed up him for an intramural league, which also helped him acclimate to his new country.
“The more time I spent with kids, the more my language improved,” he said.
It took Daramay just one year to outgrow the intramural program. At that point he started playing travel soccer.
As an eighth grader he was invited to play indoor soccer with the high school team to help get him acclimated with the players and prepare him for his first varsity season.
In ninth grade, Daramay made an immediate impact. He still remembers the game-winning goal he scored against Methacton in his very first varsity game.
With the goal totals he produced in ninth grade, opposing teams man marked him and sometimes double covered him.
“The more each team got to know him, the more they knew how to attack him,” said Knauss.
Striker was, and still is, his favorite position, but after his sophomore year, Knauss moved him to center midfield, where his talents would help the team more.
“We have two great forwards, so I’m content where I am at the moment,” he said. “My goal is not to be the leading scorer. I like to distribute the ball forward, head back and help out the defense. It doesn’t matter who scores. As long as we win, I’m happy.”
It took Daramay some time to adapt. It was a different mentality. Instead of scoring goals, he would direct play and distribute to others, not that he couldn’t score when the opportunity arose.
“He will now take on anybody he faces when he has the ball at his feet, whereas before he was a little hesitant,” said Knauss. “I always told him that when you have the ability, you’re hurting yourself by not using it. (Menvekeh) being able to go himself creates so much opportunity for the players around him.”
•••
While soccer is a large part of Daramay’s life, it isn’t the most important.
Education is.
Despite having to learn a whole new language and culture, Daramay has thrived in this country.
He has been elected president of his class for the past four years. He is ranked third in a class of 250.
At Upper Moreland, he is a member of the National Honor Society and the Key Club. He performs community service with the Key Club and volunteers one Sunday a month with the Jewish Relief Agency.
All that and holding down a part-time job.
Daramay hopes to play college soccer, but as he said, “First and foremost I want to get into college for my intellect.”
He’s investigating a number of colleges, but his first choice right now is Penn. Swarthmore and Franklin and Marshall are also possibilities.
He wants to major in pre-med and perhaps return to Guinea to help out.
“Where I grew up, the medical conditions were very, very poor,” he said. “If I could help out financially or provide assistance as part of my career - that would be my ultimate goal.”
Next year when coaches ask Knauss if Daramay has graduated yet, he’ll have to sadly reply, “Yes.”
“I don’t know where we’ll be without him,” said Knauss.
