Allan Hancock College forward Seth Kena is going with the flow.
And since that flow has taken him to seven goals in six games, the strategy seems to be paying off.
Kena—originally from Ghana, more recently from the East Coast—came to the area in July to play basketball for the Bulldogs. Practice started in early October, but Kena had one eye of the court and one eye on the fields. Soccer Coach Al Garcia talked him into heading outside, but a dual-sport autumn wasn’t going to work, so Kena decided to focus solely on finishing out the soccer season, which was already underway.
He couldn’t just run out and start kicking, however. He needed cleats, and he had to wait for a while, he said, to get the proper footwear. Once his toes were tucked in properly, he started racking up points.
Despite coming in mid-season, he rose to the top of the team in terms of scoring.
“I think it’s one of the greatest achievements I’ve had recently,” he said.
His most memorable goals, he said, came in a game against College of the Canyons. The Bulldogs were down by two, and Kena tied the score with a header and a breakaway. Hancock still lost, but Kena was glad he could at least put two more points up for his school.
Even allowing for what he believes to be scoring qualities (his 6-foot-2 height, speed, and athleticism, for instance), the numbers are eye-opening—especially considering that his mind had very recently been trained on hoops.
The fact that he played a bit of soccer while he was growing up certainly has helped.
“… My country’s all about soccer,” he said. “The competition is, like, really heavy because that’s what all the kids do. If you don’t play soccer in Ghana, you’re pretty much not going anywhere.”
He admitted that he took more of a shining to basketball, but that he’s fallen into a rhythm with soccer. Plus, he just wants to score.
Kena said he’s studying sports psychology, but he’s not sure yet whether that represents the end goal on his current path. He’s not even sure where he’d like to continue his education, but he’s hoping for a scholarship—whether from soccer, basketball, or whatever it is life serves up next.
“As much as I love basketball, probably I might still go back to it, but judging from recent events … I think now I’m just going with the flow,” he said.
And he’s enjoying the ride. While he misses home, he said he likes this area—more than the East Coast. This side of the country is warmer, he said, and it reminds him of Ghana.
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2012.