During finishing drills after a recent practice, Dynamo rookie Geoff Cameron buried shot after shot with a whizzing velocity that can be heard even on the sidelines. But on game days, Cameron is just as likely to be penciled in at the beginning of the lineup, with the defenders, as at his preferred midfield location or up front.
Drafted as a midfielder from the University of Rhode Island, Cameron made his Dynamo debut in the Pan-Pacific Championships as a forward, scored his first goal in dramatic fashion from midfield, and played most of a Champions' Cup match as a center back. The only position he has not played is goalkeeper.
"I just want to get out there and play, with the first team or with the reserves, and I don't care what position I play," Cameron said. "I'll play either outside mid or center back. It doesn't matter to me. I'm just enjoying it and trying to become a better player every time I get out there."
In the Champions' Cup semifinal second leg against Deportivo Saprissa on April 9, Cameron was forced to move from outside midfield to center back just five minutes into the game after an injury to veteran Craig Waibel left the Dynamo without other options. Houston lost the game, but Cameron showed enough to earn some more looks in that position.
He started at center back alongside Waibel in the Dynamo Reserves' first game of the season Sunday, helping the Dynamo to a 2-1 win. A position at the back may limit goal-scoring opportunities, but Cameron said there is still plenty of need for touch on the ball as a defender.
"You have to have a really good first touch," Cameron said. "The balls get played really hard into you, so if you don't have a good first touch, you limit yourself as to what you can do. If you do get a good first touch, you can open the game up and take it forward."
In his five competitive appearances, Cameron has showed poise and touch on the ball as a wide midfielder, and he also used his 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame to hold off FC Dallas defender Adrian Serioux in one notable exchange April 6. But his first-team playing time could be limited with the return of the Dynamo's midfield starters, so making himself available at other positions, especially ones where his size is a major advantage, could lead to more minutes.
"I'm learning from the guys - Eddie and Craig have been very helpful teaching me the center back position, and I kind of understand it," Cameron said. "[The coaches] have some confidence in me in the back and out wide and, I guess, up top, so for me it doesn't really matter. Playing center back is good because I'm seeing the whole game, so I've learned from other people's positioning and seeing how they set up."
Cameron may not have anticipated a position switch or the Houston humidity when he envisioned playing professional soccer, but he said reality with the two-time champions has lived up to most of his expectations, based on conversations with friends like MLS players Devon McTavish, Aaron Pitchkolan and Nico Colaluca.
"They all told me it's just a lot quicker, and everything's a lot faster. Drills are short in time, but the intensity's way up, and everything's a lot quicker," Cameron said. "Training like that every day, you're preparing yourself better for a game."
Cameron has been prepared when called upon so far, no matter which position he's asked to play. But don't expect him to stop working on his finishing. You never know when the Dynamo might need another last-minute goal.
