Leo Conneh knows who he is both on the field and off
CHAMPLIN, Minn. (BVM) — Since his freshman year at Champlin Park High School, Leo Conneh has always strived to get better.聽聽聽
鈥淎fter my freshman year, I did watch a lot of film after the games and all I tried to do was just become a better player,鈥� Conneh said.聽
His coach at the time had given him a challenge, telling Conneh that his sophomore self should be able to easily beat the freshman version of himself. Conneh took that to heart and lived up to the challenge. As a freshman, Conneh made varsity and received second team all-state honors. Even so, Conneh knew he could be better, especially with a year under his belt.聽
鈥淵ou kind of get nervous at games,鈥� Conneh said. 鈥淓ven as the season goes on, you get a little more confident but you鈥檙e still nervous because you鈥檙e a freshman playing against these big kids, but as sophomore season comes around you鈥檝e seen everybody, you鈥檝e seen every team, you鈥檝e seen what every team does, you watch a lot of film on them and you get a little more confident.鈥�
Along with the nerves, Conneh鈥檚 coaches like Karim Darbiki and Soctt Dosset instilled in him a mentality of always looking to score, of needing to score. As a forward, it was his job, more than anything else, to score goals to help the team win.
鈥淢y job is to score and put the ball in the back of the net,鈥� Conneh said.
Conneh clearly had no nerves going into his sophomore year and got really good at his job of finding the back of the net. The Rebels forward was second on the team in both goals and assists only behind fellow striker senior William Heinen. He helped Champlin Park to a 12-2 record and a sectional runner-up finish. Conneh鈥檚 contributions earned him first team all-state honors as well.
鈥淲e really played together as a team and that鈥檚 why we had so much success last year. 鈥� We played for each other,鈥� Conneh said.聽
The Rebels defended as a team, attacked as a team and fought through adversity as a team.聽
鈥淟ast year, we didn鈥檛 know if we were going to have a season,鈥� Conneh said.聽
In particular Conneh, along with Heinen and Yonas Canny, formed a deadly three-headed monster that accounted for 39 goals and 15 assists. This partnership, like Conneh鈥檚 improvements, began freshman year.聽
鈥淲e started working on how to play with each other,鈥� Conneh said.
They learned how to play off of one another and what the other liked. Conneh, personally, likes the ball at his feet as does Canny, but Heinen tended to like the ball played into space. All of this took two years to create and now with Heinen graduated it鈥檚 up to Conneh and the other veterans on varsity to rebuild the chemistry with the new players.聽
鈥淲e have to stay strong, we have to be leaders, we have to be role players, we can鈥檛 just tell people what to do, we have to show people what to do,鈥� Conneh said.聽
They have already put that into practice throughout the offseason and Conneh likes where the team is at with the season about to begin.聽
鈥淥ur whole team has been training and we鈥檙e starting to find that little bit of chemistry,鈥� Conneh said.聽
The whole team wants to continue the success that they had last year. The Rebels won the Northwest Suburban Conference last year and were one of the top-ranked teams in the state heading into the postseason. However, it was the end of their season that has created a new goal for the team.聽
Entering as the No.1 seed, Champlin Park suffered a tough loss to Mounds View in the sectional final game. The match was tied 1-1 at halftime, but the Mustangs took over in the second half and ended up winning 5-1. It was the second time in as many years that the Rebels season had been ended by Mounds View in the playoffs.聽
鈥淢ounds view has ended our season twice now and it is definitely becoming one of those games we look forward to,鈥� Conneh said. 鈥淲e know if we want to go to state, we have to go through Mounds View. 鈥� I hope we get to face them again this year.鈥�
Aside from the aspirations of the team, Conneh is once again looking to be able to easily beat the version of himself from the year before and continue to work towards his long-term goal of playing professionally.聽
鈥淚t (soccer) has always been important to me,鈥� Conneh said.聽
He has always loved the sport of soccer and dreamed of playing professionally, but it wasn鈥檛 until he had a chance to play with the Minnesota United first team that he realized it was attainable.
鈥淭his is something I can actually do,鈥� Conneh said. 鈥淭his is something that if I work and put God first in everything I do I can really reach the level I want to because it鈥檚 all up to me.鈥�
His opportunity with the first team may have helped him realize what he could achieve, but Conneh has known who he is for a long time and that has been an important part of his success. Conneh credits this to his mom, dad, older brother and little brother and his soccer family.聽
鈥淭hese people have really helped me become who I am and that鈥檚 really important because if you know who you are as a person then you start to know who you are as a player,鈥� Conneh said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not all about soccer, it鈥檚 bigger than soccer and these people have really helped me be a better person.鈥�
Conneh knows who he is and where he wants to go. Now it鈥檚 up to him to make it happen.聽聽
鈥淎ll I have to do right now is keep my foot on the gas, keep working, keep being a team player and just keep being who I am to be honest,鈥� Conneh said. 鈥淛ust keep being who I am as a player and a person. I feel like if I keep doing that and putting God first I feel like I can get to the level I want to be at.鈥澛犅�
