Sophomore striker puts goal within reach at JFK
------------------------------

BY IAN BEGLEY

Tuesday, October 9th 2007, 12:34 PM

------------------------------
 [image: Click to enlarge] <javascript:void(0);>

Click to enlarge
------------------------------
 [image: Teammates have had to cajole Karamba Janneh to keep up his
classwork. Knights need services of striker, who entered week with
PSAL-leading 24 goals in eight matches.]

Teammates have had to cajole Karamba Janneh to keep up his classwork.
Knights need services of striker, who entered week with PSAL-leading 24
goals in eight matches.

Karamba Janneh sat among nine relatives sprawled across three couches in the
living room of his Longfellow Avenue apartment, watching the Yankees'
playoff game against the Indians on Sunday night. Between innings, Karamba's
father Wassa would switch to a cable channel to check highlights of the
English Premier League.

The family, which had recently broken the daily fast in observance of
Ramadan, erupted when Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer to give the Yankees
the lead. But the PSAL's leading goal scorer sat silent in a Manchester
United jersey, looking withdrawn as his cousins, brothers and father
celebrated the blast.

Wassa flipped back to the soccer a few minutes later and Karamba came alive
as a highlight reel of recent goals flashed across the screen.

"My son is totally consumed with soccer right now," Wassa said after the
Yankee game ended late Sunday night. "It is everything to him.

"I fully support him in everything he's doing and I believe he can go as far
as he wants to, but I tell him that academics must come first. Education is
the key to everything for Karamba."

Teammates at Kennedy preach a similar message to their superstar striker,
repeatedly checking to see if Janneh, who struggled to remain academically
eligible to play soccer this season, is on task.

Knights coach O'Neil Spencer reminds Janneh daily that school should be at
the top of his to-do list. The 16-year-old showed a tendency to make the
sport his first, second and third priority during his freshman year, failing
two classes and needing to attend summer school to stay on the team.

It's taken a village of relatives, teammates, coaches and teachers to raise
him, but once he's in uniform and on the soccer pitch, Janneh can handle the
rest.

The 5-6, 124-pounder leads the PSAL with 24 goals in eight games in just his
second season of organized soccer. Coaches and teammates say his combination
of footwork, ball control and speed is lethal.

"He's the best player I've ever coached against or seen at the high school
level," said Riverdale/Kinsgbridge coach Will Cushing, who is in his third
season on the sideline. "In terms of raw talent, he is incredible."

Last Thursday, Janneh sat at the base of a light post a few yards from the
Kennedy sideline and out of the reach of the unseasonable sun, trying to
catch his breath after scoring his third goal against South Bronx. There
were 28:00 left in the second half of the Knights' 5-0 victory, but Janneh's
day was done well before the final whistle.

He added four more goals in a 7-2 win over Riverdale/Kingsbridge the next
day, avenging a season-opening 2-1 loss to the Tigers.

Janneh sealed the Knights' win in the second half with a goal that Cushing
likened to a "Michael Jordan" moment.

"We had three guys on him and he has the ball in the corner on the endline,"
Cushing said. "I'm thinking we've got him contained and it will be a steal
or a corner kick."

Janneh had other ideas. He flipped the ball behind the first defender,
sidestepped the second defender and ripped a shot that kissed Kingsbridge
goalie Alberto Aquino's elbow, hit the inside of the post and landed in the
back of the net.

"It was insane," Cushing said. "He didn't have an angle, and he got it in
the only space he could."

Not everyone has been as star-struck by Janneh, including (at times) some of
his teammates. Spencer said there was some animosity when Janneh began to
garner attention for his play; some teammates stopped passing him the ball,
creating divisiveness.

Spencer called a meeting two weeks ago to discuss the problems, leaving the
players alone in a classroom to work things out.

Tempers flared as teammates vented, but the team left the half-hour meeting
in jovial spirits, ready to pursue a spot atop the Bronx 'B' Division.

In Kennedy's next game, a 6-1 win at Smith on Sept. 26, the Knights' ball
movement improved, as did their attitude.

"One thing that stood out to me about (Janneh) was his unselfishness," said
Smith coach Ron Woods, who was unaware of the Knights' infighting. "He
doesn't force the issue and he's well-liked by his team. If he wasn't, they
wouldn't give him the ball."

Taft Campus is undefeated in the 'B' Division, and held a three-point lead
over the second-place Knights (7-2) through last week. The Golden Eagles
held Janneh scoreless in a 3-0 win in mid September. Coach Ron Jabusch said
his team shouldn't have a problem shutting down Janneh when the teams meet
again on Oct. 19.

Jabusch suggested Janneh's numbers are misleading because he has feasted on
inferior competition. Janneh has scored nine goals in two games against
South Bronx (3-3 through last week's games) and six goals in a 19-0 win over
Jane Addams (0-6).

"He scored six goals against Jane Addams - any one of my kids can do that,"
Jabusch said. "He's gotten a lot of goals against weak teams and I have a
good defense.

"We shut him down and we're going shut him down again," he added.

Janneh shrugged off Jabusch's prediction.

"That's his opinion, but I have confidence too, and I know we're not
losing," Janneh said with a smile.

As the Knights prepare for what they hope will be a long run into the
playoffs, they do so knowing much of their fortune rests squarely on the
shoulders of the stocky forward in the No. 10 jersey.

"He was cutting classes and I told him you have to go to class to play,"
senior striker Kwame Asumadu said. "You're a good player and we need you,
but you can't play soccer in the hallway."

During Kennedy's spring workouts, Janneh was considered persona-non-grata.
When Janneh tried to join his teammates, they refused to allow him onto the
field.

"My teammates told me to do my work and go to class," Janneh said. "And I
trust them; they know what's best for me."

Janneh, who lived in Brikama, Gambia, until 2003, started playing soccer
when he was 4, following older cousins to practice before their games in the
Gambia Football Association.

Karamba emigrated to the United States with his mother, Sutay, three years
after his father fled Gambia out of fear for his safety under the country's
military dictatorship.

Wassa was a member of the United Democratic Party, which opposed the
Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction that controls the tiny
country on the western coast of Africa.

Wassa said he was a UDP-sponsored candidate for the national assembly, but
he spent five months in jail for criticizing the policies of the government.

"That's why I came to the United States: you have freedom and liberty," said
Wassa, who obtained political asylum from the United States in 2001. "The
sky is your limit, whatever you are able to do."

That's also how Wassa began to feel about his son's soccer prospects after
he watched Karamba score six goals in the Knights' season-opening win over
South Bronx. It was the first time the father saw his son play organized
soccer.

"After I saw him that day, I knew then that if he continues to play like
that and progress, he has a future in soccer," Wassa said.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤