It's a brutally hot, humid day at Kansas City Wizards practice, and Jimmy Conrad is doing what he does best. Win the ball. Get it to a teammate. Sacrifice the body for the greater good of the team. And if that means absorbing bumps and bruises and aches and pains along the way, so be it.
As practice is winding down, the occupational hazard of Conrad's chosen profession is on full display. Conrad is shaken up from a typical knee-bumping episode and stays on the ground for a few minutes as other players filter off the field. But after applying an ice pack and walking gingerly for a bit, Conrad retreats to an air-conditioned training facility with no new body damage to report.
"Just a typical day," Conrad said, smiling.
Typical days are happy days for Conrad, who has climbed the soccer ladder from undrafted MLS afterthought to widespread recognition as a premier defender.
But now comes the next challenge. Conrad has earned the respect with Defender of the Year honors, Best XIs, and World Cup and All-Star appearances. Now, at age 29, he wants to enhance the career accomplishments by stacking one year of excellence on top of another so that the body of work stands out over the long haul.
"It's a whole different challenge and one that I'm looking forward to in my career," Conrad said. "You're almost starting over. You want to prove it not only to yourself but to the people around you that you aren't going to just settle for what you've accomplished. You want more. Getting the respect has been one thing, and maintaining it is something else."
Wizards interim coach Brian Bliss believes debates can rage as to whether Conrad is in fact the best defender in the MLS. But in any informed poll, Bliss said, Conrad would be right in the mix.
"Whether he's the best, I don't know because every coach's eyes see something different," Bliss said. "But Jimmy is definitely one of three or four guys you would talk about. Somebody may say the best defender is (Columbus') Chad Marshall or (Real Salt Lake's) Eddie Pope or (Los Angeles') Tyrone Marshall. But Jimmy would always be in that conversation."
Pope has set the standard for sustained excellence as a defender that Conrad wants to emulate. Stay humble. Stay hungry.
"It's something I think about a lot when I'm working hard in the offseason," Conrad said. "As you get older, you can also get more crafty and outsmart the young guys who are running just to run."
With a well-timed nudge here or there and proper positioning, Conrad can frustrate even the most talented offensive players.
"I know a lot of coaches teach kids to look at the ball," Conrad said. "I like to look at the hips and you can still see the ball doing it that way. They aren't going to run anywhere without their hips. And I talk to kids about getting their arms in there. A little nudge throws people off. It's not cheating, it's playing smart defense."
At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Conrad excels in aerial battles and has a knack for reading plays. Doing the dirty work is a task he thrives on.
"It's going in there and putting your body in positions where you may end up hurting yourself because you are trying to bust up a play," Bliss said. "Jimmy understands that role."
Just back from the World Cup where his play with the U.S. national team received positive reviews, Conrad is focused on helping the Wizards regain sound footing. A prolonged drought cost coach Bob Gansler his job on Tuesday.
"We just need to get our swagger back," Conrad said. "There's a very thin line between success and failure, being confident vs. feeling down on yourself. We just need to battle through, get a win and then I think we can get on a roll."
After having sports hernia surgery on March 31, Conrad has fought through the after-effects to again be voted into the Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game on Aug. 5 in Chicago. There, Conrad and company will have the opportunity to compete against England's Chelsea FC.
"Chelsea is the top club in the world, so it's exciting," Conrad said of the two-time defending English Premier League champs. "I know it's their preseason, but I expect them to come out and play their best."
With the Wizards needing a jumpstart, Conrad hasn't really had time to stop and fully digest the overall World Cup experience.
"It's going to take another five or six months for everything that went along with it to really sink in," Conrad said. "I've had to shift gears pretty quickly. But one thing that has really stayed with me is that the World Cup was the most fun I've ever had playing soccer. Everything you worked for, it all kind of makes sense. This is why you did it, and the World Cup was a chance to savor and enjoy it."
Whether it's the World Cup, an MLS regular-season game or an All-Star appearance, fans have come to expect to see a premier defender in Conrad. He has arrived in a circle of elite company. Now the trick is to stay there.
"I have been fighting for some attention for a long time, and it has kind of hit me in the face all at once," Conrad said. "It allows me to share my story. I didn't really have the pedigree of a lot of guys. By sharing my story, maybe I can give some kids hope that they can make it, too."
Robert Falkoff is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
