Here’s an important thing to know about Keyvin Menendez when it comes to work ethic, stamina and desire.
Prior to this soccer season, the Nottingham High senior was required to do a four-mile fitness run.
“He had to do 16 laps or something,” Northstars coach Sean Fitzpatrick said. “I told him around the 13th lap, ‘Dude if you can do this last lap in less than two minutes, we’ll say you’re done.’ He could have easily milked it and got it done in 16 laps.”
But …
“Next thing you know he just takes off, he got it done in a minute 20,” Fitzpatrick said admiringly. “It was impressive just the necessary effort he put in to be here. He’s just that type of kid. I was like ‘Wow, I gotta tell the track team about this kid now.’”
Uh, you might want to hold up on that, Coach.
“I was exhausted,” Menendez said, laughing. “After I finished that lap I just threw up.”
Yikes!
Nonetheless, the effort was remarkable. How did he do it?
“I don’t know, man. I honestly don’t know,” Menendez said. “He told me finish this lap in under two minutes and I just pushed myself to get that last one.”
It’s the kind of story that exemplifies what Menendez is like on the pitch and why the center midfielder has become a driving force for a Nottingham team that was 7-8 as of Oct. 16, already surpassing last year’s five wins.
His two goals and six assists are modest when compared with the statistics of junior teammates Prince Achi (17 goals, two assists through 15 games) and Eli Addo, but his contributions come in other ways.
“We’ve got a lot of inexperience,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s been that safety net in the middle that helps us hold things down. We’re kind of like a roller coaster and he’s like the calming influence. All the kids respect him. He’s approachable to everyone on the team.
“He’s probably one of our best guys distributing the ball. He plays both ends of the field and he plays almost the whole game. He’s a workhorse out there. He doesn’t look it but he’s a presence.”
What’s unique about Menendez is that he never played organized soccer before high school.
“I liked it my whole life,” he said. “But I never played on a team.”
He finally laced up his cleats as a freshman at Hamilton West, where he played JV for two seasons before transferring to Nottingham.
“We knew nothing about him,” Fitzpatrick said. “He showed up junior year and we’re like ‘Oh he’s pretty good.’ He was the last guy to make varsity last year. By the end of the year he was playing two thirds of the game as an outside back and ended up getting the Most Improved player award.
“At first we were like ‘Who is this kid?’ But thank God he’s here. If we had a draft he’s probably the second, third or fourth kid getting drafted on to our team as far as the better guys.”
Menendez played center midfield at West, so it was an adjustment for him moving to right back last year. Coincidentally, he scored his lone goal of the season against Hamilton.
“There were a lot more experienced players in the that center-mid role so I tried right back to get more minutes,” he said. “It was very difficult getting used to that considering I never played that role. As the year went on I got more into that.
“I was watching myself on Hudl the first game of the season and then I was watching the last game. You could definitely see the difference in how much better I got.”
He was helped by gaining club experience, joining Mercer United as a freshman and switching to PDS last year. Menendez said it gave him a better feel for how to fit in with a team and improved his skills as well.
This season, he has returned to center midfield, and the endurance he showed in his preseason fitness run has been necessary.
“Usually I start off as a center-defensive mid, and as the game goes on and we need goals I go into that attacking role and try to score some goals for us,” he said. “I think I like to attack more and create those chances for us.
“I’m mostly playing the role of distributor. If they really asked me to I could score a lot more goals. But Prince and Eli are great players and I think next year they’re gonna be huge leaders. I look to get them the ball.”
Whatever his responsibilities on the field, Menendez has plenty of time to perform them as the Northstars lack depth at the key position.
“For most of the year we’ve only played two center-mids,” Fitzpatrick said. “A lot of teams load up with the center-mids. He knows he’s in a nice little gun fight in terms of numbers some days and he’s just a workhorse in the middle of the field.
“Depending on our personnel we’ll play him as an attacking mid or as a defensive mid. He’s got really good ball skills, he sees the field well. He’s not just a guy who’s a grunt guy running around. He’s impressive with his skills.”
He is equally impressive in the way his teammates gravitate toward him and follow his lead.
“That does surprise me a lot considering it is my second year on the team,” Menendez said. “There are kids who have been in the program a lot longer than me, but they do look to me a lot and I do feel like a leader.
“I was really proud to be named a captain. I kind of just lead by example, give some halftime talks. I’m not the yelling type, but more like I tell them what we need to do, what I think we could improve on.”
Some players actually come to him for advice, while at the same time, he has no problem asking his coaches for suggestions.
“He comes off as a pretty quiet kid but he’s got a great personality,” Fitzpatrick said. “He listens when he comes to talk to you. When you tell him he needs to do things he’s not confrontational about it. And when he questions, there’s a general sincerity, he wants to improve and do what’s best for the team too.
“He realizes the ultimate goal is the team success. That was shown last year when he came in and did whatever you needed right off the bat. That was when we knew nothing about him. Now we know so much about him and he’s still that way. That’s a pretty big credit to him.”
Menendez, who also polishes his game on his own with a “buddy who’s a lot older than me,” has enjoyed the team-first attitude of this year’s Northstars.
“We’ve got everyone on board this year,” he said. “Last year it was sort of like a little too much ego on the team. I think everyone is on the same page this year.”
Menendez would like to continue his soccer career at the college level and is in the process of searching for the right fit.
“I want to play in college, my grades are pretty good,” he said. “I’ve contacted a couple of schools; PDA has helped me a lot.”
Wherever he ends up, if his future team needs someone to conduct its distance runs, it has its man.
