“You’re always calculating and assessing the situation you’re in at any given moment. And then you’re also calculating the chances and rate of success of an action in any given moment.” – Quincy Amarikwa
March 13, 2016. MLS Week 2 against the Portland Timbers. One minute of first half stoppage time. Quincy Amarikwa wins possession of the ball on the right side of his own half, muscles past a challenge from defender Jermaine Taylor, and sprints into space with three Timbers players trailing close behind. Forty-five yards from the opponents’ goal, he looks up to gauge his position. The only other San Jose player in Portland’s half is 20 yards to his right and behind him. Three Timbers still track him frantically. One of the two Timber center backs drifts over to intercept him before he can reach 30 yards from goal.
But the goalie is off his line. He’s already backpedaling quickly from the edge of his own box to cut off any scoring opportunity from distance. So Amarikwa does the only thing he can with less than a minute remaining in the half.
“I knew all I had to do was hit the ball right.”
Amarikwa takes just three touches on the ball after winning possession. First touch allows him to escape Taylor and break into a sprint. His second releases him into space beyond the midline. His third touch, perfectly calculated, sets him up for this:
Amarikwa himself dubs the goal a result of simple intuition, a “product of circumstance.” But it’s not a simple goal. He chipped the goalie. The ball hit the very top of the side netting in the left corner of the goal. From 35 yards out. A goal like that takes special talent and a special player.
The San Jose Earthquakes drafted Quincy Amarikwa with the 32nd overall pick of the 2009 MLS Superdraft after a decorated collegiate career at UC Davis. Acclimating to professional ball after coming from a college environment took some serious adjustments. The MLS system of emphasized production and results was a far cry from the close-knit college style team Amarikwa came from.
“When I first came in, it was to contribute to the team and be a team guy and help,” Amarikwa said. “I add energy and stuff into the game, and that’s what the coaching staff was asking of me. I felt I did very, very well to achieve that at the end of the year.”
But the Earthquakes didn’t make the playoffs, and Amarikwa embarked on the career of a journeyman. He’s played for four different teams since 2009, including two separate stints with the Earthquakes. His development has been an interesting one since leaving his first stint with San Jose.
“My goals started changing to be more individualistic oriented, which will help result in team positive results… I can also be helping the team if I’m scoring goals and getting assists. Even though I can do all the other stuff, I have to be able to [score goals], so it’s all a balancing act.”
Selfishness is not one of Amarikwa’s innate qualities, but he’s learned to accept that a more selfish approach on the field is actually more beneficial for the team and will facilitate the results that drive success and failure in MLS.
Amarikwa’s only gotten better at the balancing act as his career has progressed. His 2010 season with the Colorado Rapids culminated in an MLS championship. In 2014 with the Chicago Fire — his first full season of games — Amarikwa recorded career-highs across the board, highlighted by eight goals and five assists.
His run of form with Chicago reignited San Jose’s interest, and finally, in 2015, he returned to the Earthquakes to create a formidable pairing with star forward Chris Wondolowski. His open attitude to new opportunities and new environments has defined his career in a singular way.
“Sometimes, I think people’s fear of losing what they have prevents them from achieving more… I’ll bet on myself. There’s always another place I could play soccer.”
Because of that approach, Amarikwa has been able to embrace new starts in multiple cities and succeed. But there is another key ingredient in the open mindset that has guided his career. For all of his extraordinary talent on the field, Amarikwa is not a traditional athlete in one fundamental way.
Quincy Amarikwa doesn’t love the sport he plays.
At least, not in the way that many fans expect their favorite athletes to live and breathe sports, to be totally immersed at all times. He doesn’t follow worldwide soccer, nor does he have a favorite player.
“I’ve looked at a lot of the players I’ve played with… I’ve gone ‘Wow, I wish I loved soccer as much as this guy loves soccer,’” Amarikwa admits.
His enjoyment stems from the action of soccer itself, the process of learning, growth, and dedication to craft. He loves playing the game, even if he doesn’t love the game itself.
However, playing in MLS has somewhat changed his lifelong disinterest towards following sports. Amarikwa admits it’s been an unexpected, yet welcome evolution.
“I’ve also said I don’t love soccer the way that many people [do], and I haven’t been a fan of any sports team especially growing up… I am a fan of MLS. I know more MLS, I understand the league and players and stuff more than any other league I’ve paid attention to… I started becoming an avid watcher of all MLS games.”
Part of this growing attachment to MLS comes from his sheer admiration for the players in the league after competing against them for eight years. Amarikwa is man who deeply believes in, and respects “the process” — the consistent work and dedication towards craft, interests, and passions. Seeing that in his peers brings him closer to the league itself.
“I think it’s just an admiration for understanding how good individuals are… that’s really where my appreciation for the league comes from. I’m seeing these guys and I just know how good they are because I play against them. I know how hard it is to beat them.”
He’s even developed a favorite player-type, even if he has no single favorites: “The ones who go unnoticed a lot are the ones [who are] extremely intelligent on the field. I’m really impressed by very smart players, because I like to see how they’re able to navigate such an athletic league and still perform very well.”
Amarikwa doesn’t love soccer like some people and some players do. But he is a special player with prodigious talent. Exhibit A: chipping the goalie from 35 yards out. The truly remarkable thing about Quincy Amarikwa is he’s so much more than a professional soccer player.
In the “About” section of his website, containing a self-written bio, he styles himself “an entrepreneur, mentor and online marketer who also just so happens to play professional soccer in the MLS.” Throw in “published author” and “web-series star” to his list of titles and we begin to approach to full scope of who Quincy Amarikwa is — and what he’s capable of.
He’s only 28 years old. Listening to him speak about his passions and worldviews reveals both sage wisdom and a more complete understanding of how he’s been able to achieve so much.
“What’s necessary is action and implementation.”
Amarikwa is not an idealist. He believes wholly in the concept of action, in making dreams and ideas into realities. It’s that same attitude that spurred him through writing the book The Perfect Soccer Player Blueprint, a nine-step method to becoming the player you want to be. Despite lacking an affinity for writing — especially writing about soccer, by his own admission — he felt he had necessary knowledge to offer and a platform through which to offer it.
His own description of the process underlines his remarkable forward drive: “I sat down and got real concise with what I felt those key things were, and what those main focuses should be.”
Amarikwa is able to diligently follow his mantra of “action and implementation” in all facets of his life because, well, he fills his time with things he’s passionate about. He asks himself a simple question every day: “whether or not I became famous or became a professional, would I still be doing this task, this thing, every day? If the answer is yes, then do it… you’re enjoying what you’re doing every day.”
He pairs this perspective on how to navigate the waters of his career with a consistent work ethic and a developed understanding of how to get things done. Amarikwa understands the work that precedes every success. These qualities are why he’s a successful professional soccer player and why the scope of his off-the-field achievements is unusually high for a relatively young age.
Quincy Amarikwa enjoys playing soccer. He’s really good at it, too. But his true interests lie elsewhere. Look no further than his newly formed marketing company, OBI Marketing Inc, which is another platform through which he aims to achieve his goals.
Amarikwa describes OBI marketing as “really just our first umbrella corporation. So what I’m actually really passionate about is marketing, self-advertising, transactions, right? I really want to start a business, I want to start a viable, real business corporation and get going.”
Prompt him on the subject and he dives into multi-level marketing, business strategy, and the motivations behind the extensive research and self-teaching he engages in when he’s not on the field. It’s clear that not only is Amarikwa passionate about entrepreneurship and marketing, but also educated and comfortable traversing the terminology and knowledge needed to succeed in those fields.
For Amarikwa, soccer has always been the means to leverage his true passions and ideas into reality and into the spotlight.
As a businessman, Amarikwa is calculated, he’s shrewd, and he takes advantage of the rare position he’s in: that of a highly visible American professional athlete. His ultimate goal is to avoid the pitfall so many athletes find themselves in after their career is over — what do I do now?
Just like every other facet of his life, Amarikwa’s approach to this common problem is calculated and brings him back to his core tenet of action and implementation.
“I am also doing stuff every day to learn and understand my finances, my investment strategies, my business ventures, to ensure that, to the best of my ability, that when the time comes when I can’t player soccer anymore… I won’t have to say ‘I didn’t start soon enough’; I fail often and I make many mistakes, but most important I learn from them, I grow, and I advance.”
Call this mentality ‘The School of Amarikwa.’ Learn. Grow. Advance. Work hard.
Most of all, Amarikwa measures every venture he undertakes through that particular lens — is he enjoying what he’s doing?
Whether it’s scoring ridiculous, audacious chips from 35 yards, or planning the future of OBI Marketing, or spearheading his entertaining web-series QuincyTime, you better bet he’s having a blast pushing himself and his future forward.