Like many aspiring footballers in Japan, Tsubasa Endoh dreamed of one day playing soccer abroad as a youngster. Encouraged to take up the sport by his father, the Tokyo-native displayed promise from a young age and, at 11, became part of the Japan Football Association Academy, an elite system set up to develop players with potential. After four years in Fukushima, he was then presented with the opportunity to go overseas as part of the program.
“Most opted for places such as Germany and Spain, as they have long footballing traditions,” says Endoh. “The important thing for me, however, was to go to an English-speaking country. I started learning the language when I was around 4 because my mom pushed me into it. I hated studying, but as I got older, I really wanted to speak it well. Even without soccer, I would have lived abroad for that reason. England was my first choice but that was difficult. I then heard about a summer camp in the United States with the possibility of studying there in the future and that seemed like a great option.”
The then-16-year-old started out at camp in Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Things didn’t go as well as he hoped, though, so he decided to try his luck at the University of Maryland where he met Sasho Cirovski. The Macedonian-Canadian coach was impressed with Endoh’s footballing ability, but felt his English wasn’t good enough. Unperturbed, the youngster returned to Japan, worked on his language skills and within two years completed the eligibility requirements for Maryland.