From around the world,
they get their
kicks in Randolph
The Mbengam brothers, Godfred (11) and John (10), flank soccer teammate Linus Lindbereg.
(Barry Chin/Globe Staff
)
Shortly after arriving from Sweden in August, Linus Lindberg was mowing the lawn at the Randolph home of his host family when he was approached by a pair of teens from Cameroon.
The Mbengam brothers, Godfred and John, had heard about Lindberg’s prowess on the soccer field and were making their pitch for the 18-year-old to join the Randolph High boys’ soccer team.
It was his intention to play for the Blue Devils. But the gesture of the Mbengam brothers went a long way in forging a fast friendship and helping the exchange student quickly assimilate to life in the high school hallways and on the soccer pitch.
Just a few months removed from that initial meeting, Lindberg has developed into one of the most prolific scorers in program history, his 23 goals at midweek just two shy of the school record.
But more important, the unlikely trio has helped Randolph qualify for the MIAA Division 3 tournament for the first time since 2002.
The bonding of the trio “just happened,’’ Lindberg said. “They were polite to me and greeted me to the team.’’
Godfred, 17, and John, 16, can relate to adjusting to life in Randolph: The pair arrived in town five years ago after leaving their native Cameroon.
“I was the same as him, I didn’t know anybody,’’ Godfred said between bites of a hamburger and fries this past week. “I wanted to make him comfortable, show him around. Show him his classes. Make sure everywhere we go, we go together. Make him feel at home.’’
The Mbengam brothers, along with their four siblings, were adopted in 2004 by their great aunt, Helene Sonkem, and her husband, Victor, an engineer at the state Department of Environmental Protection. Their mother had died suddenly when they were toddlers.
Helene, a former nurse who moved to Randolph in 1997, started the adoption process in 2002.
“When my niece [their mother] died, my mother was taking care of them,’’ said Helene, who has three children of her own. “Then my mother died, and they were living in the village going through hard times.
“Back home, they are still talking about [the adoption] even though it’s been five years. I went through a lot to bring them here, I did so much. I think it was their destiny.’’
Helene said athletics are what helped her great nieces and nephews adjust to their new home.
All the siblings play, or have played, sports at Randolph High, including Anna, a sophomore goalkeeper for the Randolph girls’ soccer team.
“Soccer is what they do in Cameroon,’’ Helena said. “That’s all they knew.’’
One day their physical education teacher noticed them kicking a ball around and recommended they play for Eastern Mass FC, a club team.
Now as juniors, they are thriving in the both the classroom and on the soccer field, competing against each other every step of the way.
“When I play soccer, that’s when I have joy,’’ said John. Said Godfred: “When I play soccer it looks like I’m free. I have control. Even when I’m hurt, I put cleats on, and the pain goes away.’’
They have also excelled in track, helping their 4x400-relay indoor team win at the New England meet last winter.
Exchange students are not foreign to Randolph High.
Varsity boys’ soccer coach Ed Weiand, also the boys’ tennis coach, estimates he has coached eight exchange students in the last 15 years.
Dr. Louis Silvagnoli, who is sponsoring Lindberg, usually hosts one student each year.
The diverse Randolph community has helped ease the transition for foreign-born students, said Weiand, who has seven countries represented on the soccer team this season.
“What we have to offer is very unique in terms of diversity in the community,’’ said Weiand, in his 18th year at the Blue Devils’ helm and 24th year as a special education teacher in the district. “I meet so many different kinds of kids from so many backgrounds.’’
The transition is not always smooth, however.
On occasion, John Mbengam will get frustrated when his teammates are not playing up to his level. He and his brother started playing soccer shortly after their mother died and worked their way up to club and school teams. Soccer, they say, is learned more organically in Cameroon than in this country.
“Back home, if you mess up they yell at you,’’ said John, who along with Godfred has played varsity soccer since he was a freshmen. “Here you don’t get yelled at, you get patted on the back because it’s for fun. I don’t play to have fun. I play to win.’’
In Lindberg, who suits up for a club team in Sweden because there are no school teams, John Mbengam found an instant wingman.
“Ball movement just clicked, he always knows where to go,’’ said John, a striker, who had five goals and six assists at midweek. “I don’t even have to tell him. I was like, ‘All right, he’s the man.’ ’’
Lindberg is classified as a senior at Randolph, but when he returns to his home in Landskona, Sweden, at the end of the school year, he will have one year of high school left to complete.
The fact that so many of Randolph’s players come from soccer cultures has allowed the team to compete with opponents who have played together since youth soccer.
“They have a better understanding of the game than Americans,’’ assistant coach Jon Ridolfi said. “It’s my favorite sport, so I’m sorry to say it, but here we have other sports to focus on. That’s just the team concept they all recognize from growing up. They learned soccer as a team game.’’
Initially however, the United Nations-like squad struggled to get on the same page, starting 2-2-2, including a tie against Middleborough, before ripping off five straight wins.
En route to an 8-5-2 start (2-5-2 Patriot League), Randolph has netted 55 goals. And with Godfred anchoring the defense, the Blue Devils allowed only 18 goals.
On Oct. 21, Randolph exacted revenge against Middleborough, winning, 2-1, to clinch a playoff berth.
“It’s very exciting,’’ Weiand’s wife, Teresa, said of the team making the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. “He called me a million times when they finally clinched, and he finally got a hold of me. It’s nice because they’ve struggled. The high school is excited that they finally have a winning team.’’
For the Mbengam brothers, giving the school something to rally around is the least they can do after everything the community has done for them.
“It was like ‘wow,’ ’’ Godfred said of helping to turn the team around, part of an overall athletic resurgence at Randolph. “It was like giving them back what they gave to us.’’
Lindberg is happy to be a part of the turnaround and to have forged a friendship with the Mbengam brothers.
“It’s pretty amazing,’’ Lindberg said of the brothers’ story. “A lot of people couldn’t handle that. I know what they went through from some of the things they told me and I’m amazed.’’
Justin Rice can be reached at rice.ju@gmail.com
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