DONOVAN PINES PROFESSIONAL

PB: Even with all of the success that you’ve had, you’re not really the big man on campus in your family when you come back to Maryland. Making the national team again, that’s also a goal of mine and hopefully making the World Cup. I’m just going to keep my head down and keep living my dream and keep putting forth my best effort. I’m really excited for the next chapter as I keep getting healthy and making sure that I’m focused and dialed in and trusting the process. I feel that this team can go a long way in that respect.

I feel like everybody loves each other and really fights for each other on and off the field. I believe this group is very special as well. and hopefully make the playoffs and win a title. My next goal is to win the MLS Cup and do really well with my team and in D.C. I’d like to hope that the next on the list that you can speak to fruition is that you’ve dreamed of winning an MLS Cup and World Cup, right? You’ve done pretty well speaking things to fruition.ĭP: It’s really incredible how many winning teams I’ve been on. PB: You mentioned these were dreams that you had. I think honestly playing for my country and representing my country and just doing the best that I can to showcase my ability, I’m so thankful to be able to just do that. A lot of incredible things happened the past three years as a professional. He said, ‘That’s my boy, that’s my boy!’ That was kind of a tear-jerker for me because I’ve never seen him cry. The most true moment of that video is when they panned the camera to my grandpa and he started crying. I remember they sent me a video of when I subbed in. My grandparents, my cousins, my uncles, they’re ecstatic. Really took so much time to put in and finally I lived my dream of playing for the U.S. It was just incredible how much support I got from my family over the years. I was honestly just living the dream every day. I couldn’t believe that I was getting all this recognition and publicity. United and now a national team pool player.

DONOVAN PINES PROFESSIONAL

I feel like I made a lot of sacrifices over the years that put me into a really good position as a Maryland player and then as a professional for D.C. That’s either in training or preparing, watching film and playing games - always showcasing my best effort. I just kind of take one day at a time and make sure I focus on the moment and seizing the moment as much as I can and doing the best that I can in that moment. PB: Did you know this was coming? The way that you’ve progressed in your young career, did you know that an opportunity was coming to not just be on the team but to get on the pitch in a match? Did it even catch you by surprise when you got that opportunity?ĭP: Honestly, I had no idea. I really believe that this team was really, really a special team. It was honestly bound to be something really special. It was just an incredible group of players and leaders. All the players, even the tenured players, they were all very nice and equal and always took care of the younger guys.

Everybody was incredibly respectful of each other. Everybody bought into Gregg Berhalter’s system. Our play was going to dictate itself and it showed. You just focus on your training and what the coaches tell you. PB: It doesn’t hurt that you guys ended up winning the Gold Cup, right?ĭP: I felt like we were the underdogs in that tournament, but the fact is that it was really good to focus on just soccer and not worry about the outside realm of what people were saying. It was incredible just to be part of that.

For everybody who was on that team, it’s just incredible to be a part of that group of people, staff and coaches. I’m so thankful for the opportunity that I got to play with the U.S. It’s just been an incredible, incredible. A couple years later when I was 12, I said, “Oh man, I really want to make the national team.” Another 12, 11 years later, I’m making my debut with the national team. I think I myself, “I really want to be a pro,” when I saw a game with D.C. It’s always been my dream to play with the national team. PressBox: Can you put into words what that meant to you to wear the national team uniform and to be part of such a significant competition?ĭonovan Pines: Honestly, it’s just a dream come true, making my professional career for D.C. This has been edited for content and clarity. 26 to discuss his experience at the Gold Cup, carrying on the legacy of Maryland soccer and more. United in 2019 and has played in 32 matches, starting 29, in three seasons with United since then. He signed a homegrown player contract with D.C. A post shared by Donovan Pines 6-foot-4, 194-pound Pines was part of Maryland’s national championship season in 2018.