Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

When Michael Agyei was a little boy growing up in his native Ghana, he knew of only one sport.

“All they play is soccer there,” said Agyei, who came to the United States and Irvington when he was 10 years old. “I grew up playing soccer. My father played soccer. My whole family played soccer. So I naturally played soccer.”

Agyei (pronounced AY-GEE) kept playing soccer through his high school days. He was the captain on the Irvington High School team, a talented midfielder and team leader.

When Agyei decided to enroll at Rutgers-Newark last year, he also decided to try out for the men’s soccer team.

However, things didn’t work out as planned.

“I got cut,” Agyei said. “I was very disappointed. I didn’t want to participate in any sport. All I wanted to do was play soccer.”

R-N assistant track and field coach James Robbins got a list from R-N soccer coach Kevin East with the e-mail addresses of those who didn’t make the soccer team. Robbins figured that those athletes might want to give soccer a try.

Agyei was one of those who Robbins tried to contact.

“At first, I wasn’t interested in running,” Agyei said. “I tried to run track as a sophomore (at Irvington High) and I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to run. My heart wasn’t into it.”

Scarlet Raiders head track and field and cross country coach Juan Edney wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

“I knew he would say no,” Edney said. “I told him it was OK to be passionate about one sport and still be better in another. He wanted to play soccer. We had to get the soccer idea out of his head. I kept reminding him, yelling at him that soccer won’t take him anywhere, but track could.”

Agyei and his friend, another of those cut from the soccer team and received the e-mail from Robbins, headed to track practice last year.

“I stayed and my friend left,” Agyei said. “I’m not a quitter. I liked the challenge. I couldn’t give up because of Coach Edney. He always told me about the potential I had if I stayed and worked hard. I took his word for it.”

So Agyei stuck it out and became an integral part of the R-N track and cross country program.

“He’s been our top cross country guy for the majority of the year,” Edney said. “He had a little bit of a knee problem but he got through that. I think it shows what he can become if he practices more, because he didn’t practice much this year.”

Edney believes that Agyei has the ability to be a great one.

“He has great potential,” Edney said. “He just needs more focus. He needs to stay focused and when he stays focused, he’s unbeatable. He doesn’t lack confidence. What he lacks is the know-how to be a great runner and how to get to that level. He’s starting to deal with what he has to do. This could be a breakthrough year for him.”

Agyei now understands the message that Edney is trying to relay to him.

“Coach Edney told me that I can be really good,” Agyei said. “I’m slowly discovering that I can be a good runner. My times are decreasing. I’m grasping the concept now.”

Agyei still believes his future is as a middle distance runner, doing the 400 and 800-meter runs during the indoor season that begins shortly.

However, he more than held his own in cross country, running the 8K (five-mile) courses with ease.

“I ran a little cross country last year, so I knew what to expect,” Agyei said. “Because I played soccer all the time, I was able to run distances. I was in good shape.”

Agyei can become a top flight runner.

“I love his potential,” Edney said. “The sky’s the limit for him. If he could focus on running and forget about soccer, I really don’t know how good he could be. I don’t know if he knows how good he could be.”

Agyei realizes that he has a bright future.

“Right now, it feels real good,” Agyei said. “Right now, my goal is to get to the (NCAA Division III) nationals. From what Coach Edney said, he thinks I can do it. I have a lot of improvement to do. My times have already dropped three seconds. I’m slowly grasping the concept of what’s needed. I’m fortunate to have a good coaching staff to help me with all the other necessary stuff.”

Agyei has yet to declare his major, but he has an idea of what he’d like to do.

“I’m looking at psychology as a major and biology as a minor,” Agyei said. “I’m looking at going to a physician’s assistant school.”

Needless to say, Agyei is happy to have made the transition from soccer to track.

“Yes, I’m very happy,” Agyei said. “I’m happy to have someone like Coach Edney, who encourages me and makes me feel good. He’s the one who kept me running. I owe it all to him. And now, I’m one of the most important runners here. I’m not going to let that slip away.”