Keep Going, Donovan
Walking across College Park, Maryland, Donovan Pines reflects on the winding journey that took him far from where many expected him to be. It’s a sunny, but cold fall morning, like many he experienced when he was taking classes in-person at the University of Maryland. We walk by several red-brick dorms until we reach a tall glass building - the brand new engineering hall that Donovan’s father helped build right before he became president of the university last year.
“I don’t like conforming to society,” he said. An avid learner, passionate gamer and now pro soccer player at D.C. United, Pines laughed, adding, “when Flappy Bird came out, I didn’t download it. Same thing with Fortnite, I just didn’t want to download it.”
In many ways, that’s Pines’ story: never conforming to expectations. It’s a lesson he learned the hard way, but one that seems to be paying off today.
“You wanna be a leader to yourself, and make sure you’re the one following in your own footsteps,” Pines said. “You want to try to be the best that you can, and not compare yourself to other people. I used to have that problem growing up. I struggled in school. I had dyslexia, ADHD, and ADD, but that didn’t stop me, you know, I always tried to keep pushing myself.”
With a renowned aerospace engineer and respected academic as a father, the pressure to succeed at school was always going to be there, whether directly or indirectly.
“Middle school and high school were tough for me,” Pines said. “I was in speech classes, and I was struggling. I was in remedial classes while all my friends were in regular classes. I think people felt bad for me. I didn’t like being pushed aside and told that I couldn’t do the same thing that other kids were doing. It just made me realize I had to work harder than the average person. If someone studies for an hour then I just have to do two. When someone says you can’t do something, you just keep working at it, you keep being diligent, you keep practicing. Next thing you know, you’re proving them wrong.”
“It’s a lot of sacrificed time, though. My dad would wake me up at 5:30 in the morning and sit down with me to go over the Pythagorean theorem, vector equations, derivative problems, and all that. Looking back, he has really helped me, and he didn’t give up on me even through moments of frustration. Eventually, I was able to work my way up to honors courses, and by the end of high school, I was taking AP classes.”
While his father played a crucial role in his academic development, his mom was ultimately responsible for his love for soccer.
“The earliest memory that I have is watching my mom play soccer. I had never seen that side of her -- being aggressive and going at people. I remember wanting to replicate that, and I remember going off to the side and trying to dribble like her too.”
Every day, Pines’ mom drove him 45 minutes from their home in Clarksville to the RFK Auxiliary fields to train for D.C. United’s Academy team. During the 90-minute training sessions, Pines’ mom would sit and do work and then would drive another 45 minutes back home once the training session was over.
“That’s something she did for me, and I’m unbelievably thankful. Hopefully, I can reward her in the future because she’s been incredible to me.”
As we continue our walk through College Park, Pines recalls his most vivid memories from his time on campus. He tells me of the close friendships he made with other athletes at the university, struggling at organic chemistry, hitting up signature food places like Insomnia Cookies or Marathon Deli, and hiding under his bed covers from a stranger knocking on his dorm window.
After a long uphill walk down the main street on campus, we reach the university’s main biology building, where Pines took many of his courses.
“I’ve always liked nature,” Pines said. “When I was a kid, I always enjoyed going to the pond near my house, looking at frogs, salamanders, checking under rocks. I just wanted to have fun with it because I enjoyed nature, and I was so energetic that I needed an outlet. My parents signed me up for cub scouts and nature camps on top of all types of sports. I’m very blessed that they understood what I needed, and looking back, it honestly paid off. I studied biology and environmental science here, and now I’m playing professional soccer.”
As a kid, though, Pines never thought he would play soccer professionally. Much of his efforts during high school centered around academics, but Pines was also carving a name for himself on the soccer field.
He started playing for D.C. United’s academy team when he was 13 and just “kept moving my way up through the age groups.” He didn’t start right away and wasn’t in what he called “that upper echelon of players,” but he just kept working on himself to become the best player that he could be.
“There was even a time when my parents wanted to find a different team for me because I wasn’t playing, but I had to tell them ‘No, I want to keep grinding and earn my spot on the team.’ There would be times when I would only play for five minutes, but I always made sure I made an impact during those few minutes. My coaches saw my effort, and when I was in U16 and U18, I was able to earn a spot and start. You always have to trust yourself and keep working hard. If you’re working hard, you can see little results along the way. All you need to have is that competitive spirit and aspiration.”
After rising through the ranks at the D.C. United Academy, and excelling in his high school courses, in 2016, it eventually came time for Pines to decide where to go to college. Naturally, the University of Maryland seemed like a good fit. Not only was his father the Dean of Engineering at the time, but he also had the chance to be close to his older sister and continue to study the Maryland ecosystems that he had been exploring since he was a kid.
Besides all those reasons, Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski had already been tracking Pines’ progress for years and offered him a scholarship.
Looking back, it seems playing for Maryland would be one of the best decisions Pines ever made in his career, and it would ultimately alter the course of his life. Until his sophomore year in college, Pines still felt he would go the academic route as an environmental scientist. His junior year, though, that would change.
“We had a very good team that year, but we struggled at the beginning of the season,” Pines said. “It was one of the worst starts the school had ever had. But later down the line we figured out how to play some of the teams we had seen earlier that year. We figured it out, and we didn’t allow any goals in the last 13 games on the way to the championship. But it’s crazy because, at that moment, I didn’t even realize it. I was just playing, and things just happened. At that moment, you’re riding the high, and you’re just playing. I feel like that’s sort of what happened with everything for me. Sometimes you just grab life by the horns and just go with it.”
As Pines recounts his favorite memories from that 2018 season, we make our way up to McKeldin Mall, the heart of College Park. He sits quietly for a few moments with his hands clasped together, gazing towards the names of select alumni etched on the side of the main fountain on campus.
“I really wanted to give back to the school for everything it’s done for me. Same for my dad. I know I try to make him proud with academics. I know I’m not the best student, but I work really hard. I was able to reward him with a National Championship -- reward the school with a National Championship. And I was able to make him proud. I remember that day when I won it. I’ll never forget when he said he was proud of me. I remember I just hugged him, and I cried because he finally said it. It was something not related to school, but it was something that I really had a passion for. All the late nights, and all the practicing, and him helping me out, it all just came together in that one moment. I was just really happy that he said those words, and I just hugged him really hard and told him I loved him.”
After our stop at McKeldin Mall, we loop around to walk back to where we met up in the morning. We chat about past classes we’ve both taken, his dad’s first year as president of the university, and troubles we’ve both had with counselors. Even though he still has a few more credits left to earn his degree, these past two years since his National Championship have been mainly focused on his rise to the D.C. United starting XI.
After the National Championship with Maryland, he felt like he needed to do something different.
“I was riding this very big high, and I told my family that I thought I should leave and make a move somewhere.”
Having played against several English teams in a pre-season trip that Maryland took, a few clubs were vying for his signature. Queens Park Rangers were ready to give him a try-out, but right before he got on the plane, he received a call from D.C. United offering him a contract.
While many others might have snapped at any small opportunity to go to Europe, Pines’ reasoning for staying was wise for a player so young at the time.
“I think for me, I wanted to stay local. I wanted to stay close to friends and family. I also wanted to get mentally grounded because I think I needed to get focused on the mental side of the game. Being a professional can sometimes get kind of lonely, so I wanted to make sure I had a good support system around me. Sometimes you have a bad practice, and it can ruin your day, and if you’re away, then you have no one to talk to. I don’t think I was ready for that back then. So, I talked to my family and my agent, and I told them I thought it was better for me to stay in this area to continue to grow as a person and as a player before trying to make the jump to Europe -- which is my goal.”
It hasn’t been easy for Pines to earn a spot as a starter, and for the most part, he has had to bide his time. During the 2019 season, he was sidelined for a few months with a knee injury, and he spent some time with Loudoun United in USL as well.
This past 2020 season was different, though. Pines earned his spot on the starting XI. With an unusual year for teams across the league, and with D.C. United suffering from injuries, Pines saw his opportunity and -- just like with everything else in his life -- worked tirelessly to make the most of it and ended up earning 15 starts .
As we reach our parting point, Pines remembers the answer to an earlier question: what is the first memory you have of your father?
Smiling, he said, “When I was about seven or eight, I really wanted to get a Nintendo DS. I remember being on the beach with my dad, and I asked him if I could get it. So, he looks at me, and he tells me ‘Okay if you can beat me in a race on the beach, I’ll buy you the DS.’ That’s the first time I remember his competitive side shining through. So, we started the race, and I remember speeding away about halfway through, just happy because I had won. But then I looked back, and I saw my dad on the ground holding his hamstring in pain. Anyway, a deal is a deal, though, and he stayed true to his word and got me that DS.”
