Shinya

Photography by Cody Cervenka.

“I moved to California from Japan when I was seven. I gained thirty pounds in one year.”

The road to the pros has been quite an uphill battle for Shinya Kadono. The Japanese midfielder for Cal United Strikers has fought and clawed his way to live out his dream of playing soccer professionally. And while his journey is still being written, he has also found a way to inspire a new generation of international players through social media. 

Shinya’s story with soccer began soon after moving to the United States. However, his first impression of America was not related to the sport at all. 

“When we arrived, we went to McDonald’s, and the cultural shock was huge. The large sizes in Japan were considered mini here. The cups were ginormous, and you could get a free refill on soda. I was just a kid, so I was amazed. Free drinks!”

For anyone who’s ever immigrated to the U.S., this anecdote seems all too familiar. While trying all the new foods and drinks was the natural reaction for a kid his age, Shinya would end up gaining a considerable amount of weight. 

“I just got fat. I was very big, so my parents put me on an AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) team. But my interest in soccer still wasn’t there.”

Shinya’s passion for soccer only really ignited when he was ten years old, once his friends from his AYSO team started trying out for a competitive club team in his town. 

“It was two other friends and me. They both made it, but I didn’t. One, I was fat, and two, I wasn’t good. That’s the moment I got serious about soccer.”

After trying out a second time, Shinya was able to make the squad. But once again, his friends tried out for an even more competitive club. This time, it was for the Irvine Strikers, and the next three years would end up shaping Shinya for the rest of his life. 

“Originally, I tried out, and I wasn’t even considered. I literally showed up for the first day, and they cut me. The following year, I went back, and it was the same thing -- one or two trainings and cut. But the third time, I was actually better technically. So I trained with the team for almost two weeks. On the last day, the coach came up to me and asked to speak with my mom. I thought, finally, third time’s the charm.”

“So he starts speaking, and I had to translate for my mom. He starts, ‘your son is doing really well, he’s very technical, and he’s gotten a lot better.’ So I’m feeling really good telling her this, but then he just looks at me and says, ‘but… he’s kind of out of shape -- fat.’ And my mom is just there smiling because she thinks he’s saying good things. So I had to translate and tell her like, ‘no, I’m fat.’ So, in the end, I didn’t make the team. That was a pretty big event for me.”

After three years of being cut from the team, one would think Shinya would have simply let things be and move on. But it was the exact opposite.

“I was just sad, but I was also really pissed off because I was doing pretty well in training, so I thought I deserved something better. I just wanted to try to prove him wrong. Show him that I could be better. I think that just was my pure motivation for the entirety of the following year.

“I drank no soda, and I ate no fast food. My lunch was just a protein bar, pretty much. I kept that up for a year. Then I also ran around my neighborhood. Two miles every day. It doesn’t sound crazy, but it was a lot for me back then. I did that on top of training my skills and footwork. So I lost a lot of fat and actually got in shape. The next year I went to the tryout, and the coach immediately noticed and almost couldn’t believe it. He saw me once and just said, ‘I’m taking you.’”

Shinya played for the Irvine Strikers between the age of 14 and 18. Through his time at the Irvine Strikers, he climbed his way up the ranks in the same way he fought for a spot on the team in the first place.

“I had to start from the bottom and work my way up. It was just the same process, just doing the right things and try to work as hard as possible. Then, when I was sixteen, I was promoted to the academy team and started playing at a higher level. I saw a bunch of the older guys go to Division 1 schools, and that’s when I realized I wanted to try to do that too.”

Once making the jump to the academy team, the renowned database MaxPreps ranked Shinya in the top 50 prospects in the country. Soon enough, UC Berkley came knocking at Shinya’s door, and after visiting the campus, he committed to the school to play soccer and study Environmental Economics. 

The first two years in college were challenging. Balancing school and soccer was a daunting task, and Shinya’s performances on the field suffered. Nevertheless, Shinya’s junior year was a breakout season for him.

“Spring of my sophomore year is when I started performing better. I started scoring goals in scrimmages, so the coach started trusting me more and put me as a starter my junior year. That’s when I ended up being the top goal scorer on the team as a winger, which obviously gave me more confidence. I knew I could play at a higher level if I kept performing well and just keep working. Just keep working. My senior year, I was the top goalscorer in PAC 12, and because of that, I was able to go to the MLS combine. Then, I was drafted by D.C. United at the beginning of 2019.”

Coming from California, adjusting to the cold weather of the East Coast was quite a struggle for Shinya. Fortunately, the team welcomed him warmly, and he even had the chance to get to know and train with Wayne Rooney.

“We traveled for preseason, and we had team meals in the hotel. I was sitting at the same table as him, and I’m just listening to him talk. Just a regular guy. And then he asks me where I’m from. So I tell him I’m from Japan, and he asks, ‘do you know Shinji Kagawa?’ I was like, ‘of course I know who he is!’ So he just started telling me stories about him. Then I asked him who’s the best player he’s played against. And he just said, ‘Messi.’ I couldn’t believe I was hearing that straight from him. I was just like a fanboy.”

At the end of preseason, D.C. United did not offer Shinya a first-team contract, but they extended an offer to sign for their second team, Loudoun United of USL. 

“One thing that I really regret is that when my agent told me that Loudoun had given me a contract, I was just bummed out and not even happy that I got my first professional contract. I just thought that I would be able to sign with MLS and with D.C. I look back, and it’s so stupid. I was so fortunate.”

After spending half of the year with Loudoun United, Shinya joined Tormenta FC on loan for the rest of the season. He would end up making 20 appearances in total across both teams, and in 2020, he signed for California United Strikers in NISA. At the time, the club was defending champions, and the move made sense for Shinya. 

While 2020 was not everything that he would’ve expected on the field, the end of the year signified a new beginning for Shinya. He launched a Youtube channel in November and began growing his presence on social media. Today, he has 50.1k followers on TikTok and 2.2k subscribers on Youtube. Excellent numbers for a player just starting to build his presence online. 

“When I was training during quarantine, I would set up my phone or my GoPro to record myself as a way of motivation to train. Eventually, I just had so many videos that I decided to start uploading them. I upped the production and started putting them up.”

After starting his YouTube channel, the goal was simple: share his own story and inspire kids who’d want to follow in his footsteps.

“Kids are always curious and ask me questions online. But I’m not the type that thinks there are specific roadmaps to improve or get better at soccer. I don’t like imposing that on other people. So making these videos is just a way to share my experiences in a friendly manner and just let the viewers take what they want from them. Maybe I’ll blog my trips or my training routines, but I just want to give them an unfiltered view of what I do.”

As a Japanese player living in the United States, much of Shinya’s audience comes from kids and young players abroad. While he often centers his videos around development questions he receives on his DMs, he also takes the time to show what life is like in America.

“I have people watching from Germany or Uruguay or Japan. I’m lucky to live in SoCal, so I might show what I do on the weekends or what it’s like going to the beach here. I think it’s an added plus to be able to show that soccer is cool here and that there’s a lot to do on the lifestyle side of things.”

While hopefully his Youtube videos will encourage kids or young players to try to make it pro in the U.S., Shinya has also found quite a lot of success on TikTok.

“I started in January, and I have about 50k followers now. I put a video of clips showing how I became a professional, which blew up really quickly. At first, I was just posting to advertise my Youtube videos, but I found it’s probably the best way to reach the youngest audiences. They’re always scrolling there. But it just went from there. 

Since then, his videos have primarily focused on drills, advice, and vlogs revolving around his life as a professional. All in all, Shinya simply wants to make the content he wishes he had had growing up.

“Youtube really started to get popular when I was growing up. People would usually watch highlight videos, but back then, they didn't have training videos or gym workouts taught by pro soccer players, which is what I was interested in watching. When I was in college, I learned how to do these workouts properly and how they actually help you on the field. That type of insight was very valuable to me. Hopefully, I can get to spread that knowledge to the younger players.”

Although Shinya is still continuing to grow his pro soccer career and his presence online, he has a clear goal in mind beyond advice he can give on the field. 

“I want to share my experience as an immigrant to help out not only soccer players but especially future immigrants coming into the U.S.”

“I had a lot of different cultural shocks coming here as a little kid. If I can make things better for future players coming from outside the U.S., I want to do that.”

Photography by Cody Cervenka.