By Stephanie Gardner, 90:00 Soccer

The dream began 5,819 miles away from where this skillful and determined player now resides.  Kosuke Kimura, (Kōs-kay Kih-mooh-rah) born in Kanagawa, Japan, grew up loving soccer.  He and his brothers would spend every spare minute in the street, playing this exceptional game.

Once the J-League began in 1993, Kimura’s dream intensified as he watched this sport rise to a whole new level.  He became focused on one thing, becoming a professional soccer player.  From a young age, he was cheering on his hero, Ruy Ramos.  Kimura (photo) commented, “I wanted to be like him, hard-working, talented and skillful.”

By the age of 15, Kimura was already playing for the Kawasaki Frontale reserve team.  During his junior year of high school, he suffered a stress fracture to his fifth metatarsal (the bone connecting the ankle to the little toe.) This was a painful injury that should have put an end to Kimura’s dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

However, as a result of Kimura’s hard work and unmeasurable determination, he was back on the pitch in just 10 months. By the time he had fully recovered, his team gave him a second chance.  Yet the team itself was in need of help, and with no money, his team went down to Division 2.  This was a major obstacle in the pursuit of his dream that caused Kimura, now a senior, to make a life changing decision.

“Back then In Japan, if you don’t go pro after high school, you don’t go pro at all,” Kimura explains.  “I thought, ‘What am I going to do?  Quit my dream, like everyone else, and start working?  I had spent so much time for soccer, everyday, sacrificed so much to follow this dream’.”  Kimura reveals, “That time in my life was so hard for me. My dream was all that I had, all that I knew.”

During that season of his life, Kimura had a teammate who was moving to America in order to attend college, with hopes of going pro after graduation.  He invited Kimura to join him.  This opportunity sounded like the chance to fulfill his dream, and make all his tireless effort worth it.

His father told him, “Kosuke, I will support you whatever you want, but make sure once you start it, you do not finish until you can’t do it anymore.  When you can’t do it, then sit back and think about what is next; but for right now, give it everything you have.”  Kimura decided to attend Western Illinois, without knowing a word of English.  The soccer coach immediately pulled him aside and told him to attend an ESL class.  Kimura soon found himself as captain of his college soccer team.

After college, he played with the Thunder Bay Chill in the USL Premier Development league.   In 2007, at the age of 23, Kosuke Kimura found himself witnessing his dream coming true by being drafted to the Colorado Rapids.

Kimura not only made history in his own life by becoming a professional soccer player, but he also made history in the US, by becoming the first Japanese-born player in the MLS.  His perseverance in making his dream a reality had been rewarded.

Although, not in the Japan League, Kimura appreciates where his journey has taken him.  He describes the difference between J-League and MLS by saying, “definitely Japan is more skillful.  In Japan players start playing when 5-years old, training 6 days a week.  MLS is more dynamic, physical, and fun to watch.”

Last year, Kosuke Kimura was “Man of the Match” against Dallas.  He would love to have that honor again.  He states,  “If I keep keep doing what I am supposed to do, I will have more chances to attack. By doing that, maybe I can create scenarios for the team by assists, and maybe my name will be up there.”
Undoubtedly, Kimura is a solid player who sweats and bleeds determination.  As for his Colorado Rapids, it was a much-needed win against San Jose on Saturday, thanks to Kimura’s assist which led to an own-goal.  The match proved that they are an aggressive, consistent team earning their way to the post season.

Kimura is looking forward to these next few games.  He observes, “We have the right players, and we trust each other. If we just stick together for the full 90-minutes, we will have what it takes to make it to the playoffs.”  His number one priority is his team and getting results from working hard.

Kimura’s teammates and coaches are quick to share the fact that Kimura (photo) is the hardest working player on the team, and is always the last off the field.  He hopes his hard work and skill will allow him to play every game, and get more results; so that one day the Japanese national team will give him a call.

On the day of this interview,  Kimura was once again the last man off the field.  It became evident, however, that it isn’t just because he is the hardest working player.  It is also because he is enjoying every minute of his dream coming true.

(A special thanks to my Japanese-speaking husband, Tim Gardner, for taking time to interview his favorite Colorado Rapid.)

Journey from Japan to U.S. not easy
By John Meyer, The Denver Post July 22nd 2010

Rapids teammates Kosuke Kimura, left, of Japan and Omar Cummings of Jamaica enjoy being roommates too. COMMERCE CITY — There are times when Kosuke Kimura finds himself alone in the right corner of the Colorado Rapids’ defense, needing to pounce on an attacker and eliminate the threat with sheer willpower.

But even with the game on the line and his teammates depending on him, those moments aren’t as stressful as his lonely arrival in the U.S. seven years ago when he flew over from Tokyo by himself at age 18, unable to speak English but sustained by a crazy dream: to play college soccer and someday turn pro.

Rapids coach Gary Smith marvels at Kimura’s story, calling him “one in a million.” Kimura is the hardest-working player on the team, always the last off the practice field, always driven by the memory of the obstacles he faced getting here.

“He’s overcome a lot,” Smith said. “It’s just a testament to the lad. He’s a very determined boy.”

Kimura said it comes down to mental strength.

“I just don’t want to lose, against anyone,” said the 5-foot-8 Kimura. “Everybody said, ‘Kosuke, you’re so small.’ I don’t care, because I’ve got the biggest heart and I’m mentally stronger than everybody else. That’s what I believe. I have to prove it to everybody.”

Kimura, 26, shares an apartment with teammate Omar Cummings, who is from Jamaica. A Michael Jackson poster hangs on the wall by the kitchen table, and a jigsaw puzzle of the New York City skyline is pinned to the wall above the television.

They like to watch “Entourage” on HBO, “River Monsters” on Animal Planet. They’re the Odd Couple with a reggae soundtrack, the intense Japanese rolling with the laid-back Jamaican.

“We’re different,” said Cummings, “but I think it’s a good balance.”

In fact, they seem inseparable.

“That’s a sitcom,” one Rapids staffer said affectionately.

Soccer is not a big sport in Japan, although the national team did make it to the recent World Cup. Professional soccer didn’t come to Japan until 1993 when Kimura

Kimura was 18, alone and unable to speak English when he came to the United States. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)was 9 years old, but it captivated him.

“I played soccer every day,” Kimura said. “I just loved it.”

He joined the academy of a professional team and got to train occasionally with the pros. When the team was relegated to the second division, there was no money to sign players and Kimura started looking elsewhere.

A teammate was about to leave with a scholarship to play at an American college, and Kimura saw that as his ticket too.

“I’m like, ‘OK, this is it, I’m not going to get any better chance if I stay in Japan,’ ” Kimura said. “I knew if I worked hard, I could get there.”

Except he spoke no English. He went to the library and researched American colleges, looking for Division I schools that had sports medicine programs. He sent highlight videos and e-mails in broken English to college coaches, using a Japanese-English dictionary. He heard from Western Illinois coach Eric Johnson, who was intrigued but troubled that Kimura could not speak English. It was January 2003.

Johnson told him he could try out for the team that fall and maybe earn a scholarship, but he needed to come over right away to get into an accelerated English class.

“I’m like, ‘Whoa, I have no visa, I have no passport, I’ve never been outside of Japan,’ ” Kimura recalled.

Kimura was already falling behind, because the English class he needed to attend had already begun. But in the aftermath of Sept. 11, getting a visa was no longer an easy

Kosuke Kimura, left, and Omar Cummings share an apartment as Rapids teammates. “We’re different,” Cummings says, “but I think it’s a good balance.” (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)matter.

“It used to be, you’d go to the American Embassy and they would do it right away,” Kimura said. “I got all the documents I needed from the college, I went to the American Embassy, and they were like, ‘You can’t come in here anymore. You have to do everything by mail, and it will take at least three months.’

“I’m like, ‘Listen, I have to get there as soon as possible because I need to get into college in September. If I wait three months, it’s going to be April, and I’ll have only five months. It’s going to be impossible, because I don’t speak any English.’ They kept telling me, ‘That’s all we can do. You have to be patient.’ ”

Ever the tenacious one, Kimura responded by sending the U.S. Embassy two faxes a day for a week, using his trusty Japanese-English dictionary to beg for an expedited visa. Finally they relented, and he was on his way to Macomb, Ill., 75 miles west of Peoria and 6,300 miles from Tokyo.

For months he studied English 10 hours a day — didn’t even touch a soccer ball. He had to take an SAT test for admission and passed — not even attempting to answer the English questions but nailing the math section — and was admitted to Western Illinois. He started as a freshman, earned a scholarship and served as team captain his final three seasons.

“One in a billion,” Johnson said.

Kimura was drafted by the Rapids in the same 2007 class as Cummings, playing mostly on the reserve team that year. Kimura has been a regular ever since.

In May 2009, his proud parents came from Japan to see him. The night they saw him play for the first time as a professional, he scored his first professional goal against Real Salt Lake.

“I thought I was in a dream,” Kimura said. “My parents, they believe in me, always they supported me. They never denied me, whatever I wanted to do. ‘Kosuke, if you want to do it, do it. Just stick to it and never, ever give up.’ “

Japanese fullback nearly at full fitness after Colorado absence

Nick Thomas MLSsoccer.com July 7, 2010

Kosuke Kimura appeared in Colorado’s lineup last weekend for the first time in two months. (Getty Images)COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Kosuke Kimura made a welcome return to the Colorado Rapids lineup Sunday night as a second-half substitute, two months to the day after suffering a stress fracture in his left ankle.

The Japanese fullback came on early in the second half against the New York Red Bulls to try and inject some more dynamism into the Rapids’ attack as Colorado pressed forward to find a winning goal. Even though that clinching goal never came, head coach Gary Smith felt the Kimura experiment worked overall.

“I thought we started the second half a little bit flat,” Smith said after the game Sunday. “I thought Kosuke might add a bit more going forward and I thought I was proved right. He was involved in an awful lot in the closing stages and he probably got himself into our most encouraging positions.”

That leaves a defensive selection conundrum for this weekend’s trip to Toronto. With Julien Baudet still out of contention with a hamstring injury, Smith feels he has five first-team players to pick from to plug the back four: Kimura, plus the starting back four from Sunday – Scott Palguta and Drew Moor in the center of defense and Marvell Wynne and Danny Earls as the outside backs.

Smith likes to keep his back four consistent so the players can build good relationships and understanding. But he’s more than open to putting specific players in for specific circumstances when the need arises, such as putting Kimura in against New York and pushing Wynne into central defense.

“I thought that adding Kosuke with a bit more energy to our attack out wide and to have Marvell’s sheer pace in the middle in the end proved right,” Smith said Tuesday after training. “They were limited to almost nothing in those last 30 minutes when Kosuke came onto the field.”

But Smith also thinks the second-half experiment in a 1-0 loss to LA back in early May – the same game before which Kimura went down – of shifting Wynne to the outside and playing two bigger central defenders in Baudet and Moor to combat bigger forwards in Edson Buddle and Alan Gordon, was also more effective.

In such a scenario this weekend, it would likely be Moor and Palguta to start centrally against Toronto, with Wynne on the outside, meaning Kimura would more than likely be back on the bench.

Smith, however, likes to leave his options open early in the week as he evaluates players’ level of fitness and health. Still, he would have no problem starting Kimura this weekend as the defender looks back to full fitness. The 26-year-old has worked very hard to get back physically where he needs to be.

“He’s high in my thoughts for this weekend,” Smith said. “He’s had a good period out, but he is one of those players who keep themselves in very good condition. He’s a naturally fit boy. I don’t think it will be a problem him starting.”

As always, having too many good players to fill too few spots is a dilemma coaches like to have. They also like to have incredibly hard workers who give their all for their club and don’t let disappointments drag them down overly. Qualities that Kimura has in abundance, Smith says.

“I think, throughout his life in general, he has overcome a lot of problems,” Smith said. “That is testament to the lad – he’s a very determined boy. We’ve got competition now.”

Defender has been out two months with injury

Nick Thomas Media Affiliate:
MLSsoccer.com  July 3, 2010

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Kosuke Kimura is glad the Colorado Rapids coaching staff left him off the bus to Houston last weekend. Instead, the right back much rather welcomes a return to at least the Rapids’ bench in the more familiar and comfortable surroundings of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park against New York on Sunday night.

Although the Japanese defender, who has been out of the Colorado line-up since injuring his ankle in the team’s warm-up just minutes before facing the LA Galaxy on May 4, was almost ready to return in the sweltering 95-degree heat and intense humidity of Texas last weekend, head coach Gary Smith and his staff decided that the dry, 70-degree weather at home was a much better for the player’s comeback.

“I dehydrate like crazy down there in Houston,” Kimura told MLSsoccer.com this week at Rapids’ training. “Gary told me it wouldn’t be fair to put me out on the field, so I stayed here and worked on my fitness and ball work.”

It’s been a bit of a trek back to fitness for Kimura, one of the hardest working players in Colorado and, arguably, the MLS. He has worked every day on building up the muscles in his ankle and leg: “Twice a day, every day,” he said.

Thankfully, the World Cup hiatus helped give him that extra time to restore fitness while not missing any games. All Kimura needs now is playing time.

“I’m ready to go. I’m doing well,” he said. “I just have to start playing again, to get on the pitch and go wherever Gary wants me to go.”

It looks likely that Kimura will start on the bench for tomorrow’s game. While Julien Baudet remains unavailable because of injury, the Rapids will probably field an unchanged back four with Scott Palguta partnering with Drew Moor in the center and Marvell Wynne and Danny Earls as the outside backs.

Smith is delighted to have Kimura back and fit, especially with Baudet missing.

“When first team players come back, they clearly add competition to the group,” Smith said. “Kimura gives us an energy and a tenaciousness that will be needed at some point, and it will be great to have him back in the 18 and challenging for a spot.”

The game against the Red Bulls kicks off at 9 pm ET. The Rapids have won the last two games at home against New York by 4-0 margins.