Taina Anglade has never been to Haiti, but she uses “we” when discussing the country where her parents were born.
The “we” is the result of your parents instilling in her that, even though she was born in the United States and grew up in Milton, Haiti should hold a special place for her.
Anglade now has another reason for “we.”
She recently became the first women’s soccer player in Georgia State history to be invited to train with a national team. Anglade flew to Ft. Lauderdale last weekend and trained with other women from the U.S. and Canada who also hold Haitian passports as the national teams continue preparing to try to qualify for the 2016 Olympics and the Under-20 World Cup.
“I’m pretty sure my dad has told everyone he knows,” she said. “It’s a pride thing for us. Haiti’s motto is unity. Everything that a Haitian does represents Haiti. My parents always taught me that’s my country and we always give back.”
Her father, Herlandy, grew up playing soccer in the streets and then in high school in Port-au-Prince before moving to the United States when he was 20. He is, indeed, proud of what his daughter could do as the pride of his daughter and his country reverberates in his voice.
“We’ve always reminded our kids that they are Americans, but Haitian-Americans,” he said.
The training went well. Though Anglade played mostly an attacking role at Cambridge High School, she was switched to fullback by Georgia State coach Derek Leader for her freshman season because he liked her pace and ability to deliver crosses. A “tough, little cookie,” a soccer similarity that her dad says they share, she played every minute of every game.
“Shy off the field, animal on the field,” Leader said. “She’s ferocious, sometimes even needs to be calmed down. She doesn’t even realize she’s in that zone and that’s what makes her competitive.
Haiti’s coach, Shek Borkowski, said Anglade did well at training. He said she should start for the Under-20 team as it tries to qualify for the World Cup, and could move into a starting role for the senior team as it tries to make the Olympics. It will be tough. Only two teams from the region of North America, Central America and the Caribbean can qualify as one of the 12 that will compete at next year’s Olympics in Brazil. The U.S. figures to grab one of the slots, leaving the rest of the countries to fight for the remaining opening.
Borkowski, who coaches the senior team and U-20 squad, is trying to improve both teams’ chances by finding players with Haitian-born relatives. It’s a tactic many countries use on the men’s and women’s levels. He said that the U-20 team could feature 12 players who from Haiti and 10 with Haitian relatives from the U.S. or Canada.
Anglade’s case was a bit different. Instead of Borkowski finding Anglade, her dad found Borkowski. Though Haiti didn’t qualify for the Women’s World Cup, which will be played this summer in Canada, it played well and received some publicity. Shortly after one of their games, Borkowski said he received an email from Herlandy, telling him about Taina.
“We’re always looking for players who can improve us,” Borkowski said. “We moved pretty quickly. She was a good surprise for us.”
Should she make the senior team, and should she get to play in Haiti, it will fulfill the dreams of several people. Her father has returned to Haiti one time since leaving, and that was for a mission trip after the earthquake in 2010. Most of his family, as well as that of his Haitian-born wife, have left the country for the U.S. He and his wife are now U.S. citizens.
But it would mean so much to all of them for Taina to not only get to see their homeland, but serve as a reminder that she is not just an American, but a Haitian-American.
“We will be extremely proud of her to be able to directly contribute and support Haiti,” he said. “This is a big accomplishment if she can do it.”
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