Often when young players get brought up into men's leagues, there is a lot of talk about, “Is he big enough and strong enough? Will he be a boy among men?”
After watching James LaRocque play, those questions take a backseat.
LaRocque sits hunched over in his chair, with a black “Brasil” soccer toque pushing his black hair down to just above his eyes and a red, France soccer jersey, which reads “Shooting Stars Soccer Academy.” He stands about six feet and weighs just over 170 pounds.
He tells stories from playing soccer in France, Spain, Toronto and around Ontario. He talks of strictly regimented training, playing against Italian teams in international tournaments and playing for three teams simultaneously, for a week, earlier this summer.
LaRocque is only 14.
“They had a net, but it was useless,” he said, referring to a mesh screen on a field in Toronto that is supposed to protect the crowd from getting hit by errant shots. “I was putting off some nice shots and the whole net would push back. The people, some of them moved because they didn't want to get smoked.”
He was down in Toronto practising at the time.
His dad calls it “the old killer kick,” and the 14-year-old has been working on it for half of his life.
When LaRocque was growing up, his father, Don LaRocque, encouraged him to stick to one sport. After raising three other children, he said the constant driving to numerous fields and gyms was tough.
“I've got four kids and they all took two or three sports,” Don said. “We live out in the country, 35 miles (16 km past Whitefish) from any place. I was on the road steady. Last year was a nightmare. (James) was playing in Toronto for a couple teams down there. I was driving back and forth.”
LaRocque chose soccer.
He started playing soccer with the Walden Minor Soccer Association in 2003 at the age of 8.
By the age of 12, he was playing competitively for the Sudbury Athletics Club with its U-13 team.
A year later, at 13, the young footballer was playing for the Shooting Stars Soccer Academy on its U-16 team, as well as in the Central Soccer League U-14 division in Toronto.
“They'd give him Friday off from school (in Sudbury), so we'd take off Thursday at 2:30 p.m. and go down to Toronto,” his father said. “We'd stay down there until Sunday then come back and do it all over again.”
Young LaRocque even played some games back-to-back on some weekends in Toronto.
“He came off the field one day, pulled off one shirt and put on the other shirt and played for another almost ninety minutes in the second game,” Don said. “He had played ninety in the first one. And then after they finished the game, they'd do a half-hour of training.”
James LaRocque chimed in, “It's intense down there.”
In six days this summer, he played seven games for Sudbury Athletic's Premier, First Division and U-15 teams.
“He was rushing from one field to the next field because he was signed up for the three teams on the Athletics,” his father said.
“I was signed for the U-15 team, and I played (the other two teams) up,” LaRocque added.
The club eventually convinced him to sign strictly for the men's Premier team.
In a Premier game on July 16 against Croatia Adria, LaRocque's side was down 2-0 at the half.
Team captain Stéphane Boucher asked, “does anyone think they can play sweeper?”
There was hesitation among the team, Boucher looked at a few of the veterans — players in their 20s or older and players who had played varsity soccer around the city.
There was a moment of silence.
“I can play sweeper,” LaRocque said.
Boucher, who had been sweeping the first half, said, “If you need to switch out after 10 minutes, let me know.”
LaRocque helped limit Croatia Adria to one goal in the second half.
When called upon to challenge opposing forwards, he did.
He showed steady feet, akin to any league veteran, with speed to match some of the deadliest strikers in the league — particularly, Croatia Adria's.
With his soccer skill-set, it was only a matter of time until the young footballer found himself leaving the city. LaRocque's next visit to the international pitch will be a three-week training session in Brazil. He will be leaving within the next few weeks, as soon as travel arrangements are finalized.
