Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Belfast. If one asked Dartmouth seniors besieged with corporate recruiting which of the previous locations does not fit, the answer would be quite obvious. When PJ Scheufele '06 began the long and winding road to post-graduation employment last winter, little did he know the path towards his dream job would go through Northern Ireland.
Most young athletes fantasize about careers in professional sports, but these reveries usually die down by high school, when we realize that being 6'9" or uncorking a 95-mile per hour fastball will never be a reality. However, for a very select few -- and even fewer at Dartmouth -- the ambition to pursue athletics after college continues.
Scheufele, a four-year starter who co-captained the Big Green soccer team in 2005, was no exception. Since he could walk, Scheufele had dreamt of playing soccer at the highest level, a vision that would not desert the star midfielder after the shock of injury, months of rehabilitation and the uncertainty of traveling across an ocean to one of the most complicated regions in the history of modern-day Europe.
How does one end up playing soccer professionally 20 minutes outside of Belfast? For Scheufele, it is a tale most recently consisting of many more downs than ups.
A successful career at the Belmont Hill School and a nomination to the Massachusetts Prep All-State team landed Scheufele a number of serious offers from Division I programs across New England.
"Ultimately, I chose Dartmouth," said Scheufele, "because I believed it would offer me the best mix of education and athletics. I wanted to use soccer to get into the best school possible."
As Scheufele's senior season at Dartmouth progressed, it became clear that the Plymouth, Mass. native would be able to seriously consider the option of professional soccer -- until the final regular season game of the Big Green's abundantly successful 2005 campaign. Before Scheufele fractured his right tibia with two minutes remaining in his team's last game prior to the postseason, Major League Soccer seemed within his reach. Nevertheless, a broken leg cost Scheufele the exposure of playing in the NCAA tournament, and, as a result, a contract with an MLS club.
"I was on the MLS Draft Board -- an MLS team must put you on the draft board to make you eligible to be drafted -- but was not taken because of my injury," said Scheufele. "Around this time, corporate recruiting was going on, and I flirted with it a bit, unsure if I wanted to continue playing or go into the working world."
After rehabbing his leg for three months, Scheufele suffered a setback, seriously hurting his left ankle. Yet while it seemed as though his dream was evaporating before his very eyes, Scheufele finally found a reason to exhale with a preseason invitation to join the Puerto Rico Islanders of the United Soccer League at their training camp in Chile during the month of March.
Still plagued by injury, Scheufele was unable to play with the team until the last week of their trip. Nonetheless, strong play in the team's final preseason match convinced the Islanders' front office to offer up a contract. Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel -- or so it seemed.
"The Islanders offered me a contract pending medical clearance on my ankle," explained Scheufele. "So, I went to Puerto Rico with the team and had an MRI taken. Unfortunately, the results showed damage to the ankle that needed to be rehabilitated, and I could not sign with the team."
Scheufele returned to Hanover for the spring term to complete his thesis work and walk with his class at graduation. After continuing his rehab regimen with the Dartmouth athletic training staff, Scheufele returned to soccer in the beginning of July, playing with the Cape Cod Crusaders of the Premier Development League. By the end of the summer, confidence and health, had returned to the former Dartmouth standout, giving him the resilience he would soon need for an intercontinental journey to the most conflict-torn territory of Western Europe.
By August, Scheufele was looking beyond the Crusaders at a more genuine professional opportunity in the sport, but both the MLS and USL were nearing the end of their seasons. There was only one other place to look for Scheufele -- Europe.
Just as with many other vocations, professional soccer is a game of connections. Scheufele had proven that the worst effects of his injuries were behind him, and the general manager of the Crusaders, Joe Bradley, who was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, took note. Bradley set up a trial for his midfielder with Larne FC of the Carnegie Premier League -- Northern Ireland's top division.
"Because the Northern Irish league is a semi-pro league, it is far easier to play there without a work permit than other leagues," said Scheufele. "I signed with the team with the understanding that I would be leaving in December or January for either somewhere else in Europe or back to the USA."
Scheufele's house, in Jamestown, is just a few miles from Belfast, the capital of a region just awakening from 30 years of ethno-religious violence. Called "The Troubles," Nationalists in favor of a unified Ireland, led by the Irish Republican Army, fought a sporadic, but bloody guerilla war against the Unionists, who were in favor of British rule. While major hostilities have mostly ceased since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, vestiges of a battle that brutally ended thousands of lives still survive.
"In terms of The Troubles that plagued Northern Ireland for years, most of that is gone now," said Scheufele. "I have not had any fears for my safety while over here. I have learned a lot from talking to people about what it was like before, though. And there are still remnants of The Troubles all over the country.
"We were driving to a game last Saturday and drove by an entrance to a neighborhood with huge paintings on the side of a brick house at the entrance," continued Scheufele. "Both paintings depicted paramilitary men in full dress holding machine guns, seemingly as a point of pride for the neighborhood."
Scheufele's cultural immersion will most likely be short-lived. "I will know more about the MLS or USL in the coming months, and will probably know for sure where I am going to play for next season in January or February," said Scheufele, whose desire to continue his professional pursuits at home has not wavered.
As his former classmates begin purchasing Ralph Lauren suits and Gucci shoes for their new jobs on Wall Street, Scheufele hopes to be trying on a new jersey, hopefully one with an American sponsor on its front. And if his stock continues to rise as it has these past few difficult months, expect to see a Dartmouth alumnus very soon at an MLS stadium near you.
