WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of players have arrived in Major League Soccer via unconventional routes, but Anthony Peters can claim an itinerary to beat all: Baton Rouge, La. to Lexington, Ky., then brief stopovers in Iceland and Norway, a soul-searching spell back home, a stint in tiny Buckhannon, W. Va. and a few fleeting moments in Cleveland before finally catching on in Washington, D.C.
Not that he's spent much time in the nation's capital yet, however. As one of D.C. United's newest signings, Peters hopscotched across the continent with the rest of the team in their wide-ranging preseason preparations, and the big defender spent much of that time on trial, hustling just to earn a coveted spot on the club's senior roster. Now he hopes to carve out a long-desired pro career in his latest destination.
"It was a long journey, that's for sure," acknowledged the Louisiana native. "I've played at literally every level of soccer there is: youth league, premier, PDL. I did everything I could possibly do to get to this point."
Raised in southern Louisiana, an area known more for its love of gridiron football than the futbol variety, Peters' substantial size and athleticism (6-5, 205 lbs) would seemingly have directed his sporting destiny into a helmet and pads. But his father, still carrying the scars from his own football exploits, decided otherwise.
"My dad played football in college," said Peters. "He was a quarterback and he really messed up both of his knees playing football and he just didn't want me to get into it early. In middle school, you can start playing football and all my friends were playing, and I wanted to play. ... [But] by that time I was so grounded in soccer and basketball that there was just no possible way that I was going to wait until I was a freshman to start playing a sport brand-new." He began his college career brightly at the University of Kentucky before traveling overseas in hopes of catching on with a club in one of the aforementioned Scandinavian nations. But that effort was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina's disastrous impact on his native soil. While his childhood home was left relatively unscathed, he nonetheless hurried back to Baton Rouge to assist neighbors, friends and extended family.
"By the grace of God our electricity only went off for maybe 10 to 15 minutes," he said. "But both my parents are one of 12 [children], so we have a lot of relatives and some who live in pretty rural areas on my dad's side.
"A lot of our neighbors' houses got devastated -- one house in our neighborhood, a tree split it right in half, right down the middle. ... We were helping with water and generators, stuff like that. Thank God it wasn't too bad for us, but when people need you, you've got to step in and do what you're called to do."
With his hometown in tatters, Peters admits that his hopes of a pro soccer career faded into the background. Both his parents are mechanical engineers who expected him to eventually pursue a similar vocation, but his mother urged him to pursue his dreams wholeheartedly and when one of his trainers, a former Trinidad and Tobago international, learned of his lingering NCAA eligibility, he quickly arranged for Peters to resume his career at his own alma mater, West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Peters' physical presence and potential caught the interest of USL-1 side Cleveland City Stars as well as the Columbus Crew this spring. While training with the Crew in Florida, he made an impression on United head coach Tom Soehn with a strong display in a practice match and eventually it led to an opportunity with D.C., a club which stands to gain from his type of authoritative defending.
"Some guys are big and don't play big, but he plays big as well," said Soehn. "And he's a little bit more experienced than everybody thinks: he's 25 years old so he's not a young kid. The one thing we really liked about him was his vocal skills -- he talks a heck of a lot and that's obviously very important."
United's boss wants Peters to improve his footwork and distribution out of the back, and adapting to the MLS style of play will be no simple task, as last week's unfortunate performance against Real Salt Lake in the Charleston Challenge Cup demonstrated. Peters entered in place of Greg Janicki nine minutes from full time, only to be sent off mere minutes later as United fell 3-0 on a miserable night for the Black-and-Red.
"It's a constant demand for consistency," said Peters of his new league. "You have to deliver every single time, quickly, on time, [with the] best decision. Because the split second that you don't or the one time that you have a bad pass or a bad touch, these guys will punish you for it."
But given the length and breadth of his journey to get to this point, he's content to take his knocks and continue learning the trade. United's busy 2009 schedule should offer ample opportunities to prove himself in the months ahead.
"I was set and determined that I was going to make this happen and get to where I wanted to go, if I was faithful and just kept working and taking one step after the other," he said. "Being picked up by D.C. is just a huge blessing that I probably couldn't tell you in words."
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