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MLS San Jose Earthquakes

IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path

June 9, 2017 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
(San Jose Earthquakes)

I played a lot of football in school. I actually used to ditch school and go to the park across the street all the time. It was a good childhood. My mum and dad were very involved in me wanting to pursue football. It was all I ever wanted to do.My dad used to take me to the park and we used to work on my touch and on different things. He gave me so much advice and coached me through my career from a young age. He told me the things I need to work on when I was younger and I definitely see the benefits now.

My mum passed away a couple of years ago, but she was very present in my football life. She was 49 when she died. Some of my family members said I should have a number that represents her and I thought 49 was the best fit. Hopefully I will be wearing it for the rest of my career.

I have done quite a lot in my career that I am very proud of. The moment I am most proud of is definitely playing at Wembley because that is where my mother grew up. I remember she used to say "one day you'll play here." She literally lived across the street and she could hear the noise from her home.

It was the Championship playoff final against Queens Park Rangers when I was playing for Derby. There were probably 100,000 people there and it really was the best experience. My mum and my whole family were there.

Growing up I was actually an Arsenal fan, but I made the decision to play for Tottenham. I had a few clubs that were interested back then, but Tottenham was the best fit for me and I am glad I chose that. I got to play with some great players and was on the bench with the first team. I was around in the first team for quite a while but never really got the chance to play, which was annoying. Regardless, it was a brilliant experience for me and I learnt a lot from it.

I played for England youth teams up until the U-20s. I got injured at that time. When I came to 25 or 26 years old in my career, Jamaica said they wanted to call me up. I was definitely happy to do that. I have a lot of family in Jamaica still so when they saw me on TV playing for Jamaica they were surprised. That meant a lot to me.

The area I grew up in had a lot of Jamaican culture. My parents come from a Jamaican background so I grew up listening to Jamaican music and eating Jamaican food. It is definitely my culture.

I have a younger sister. She was here for the birth of my son. It was good to have her out here. We were very close growing up and the relationship now is even stronger. It is just the two of us in terms of siblings so I think she looks up to me as a big brother.

Coming to the Quakes started in 2011 for me. David Beckham was training with Tottenham for a while. I had just come back from injury - two and a half years out. I said I wanted to go to MLS to get some game time and Frank Yallop was the manager of San Jose - he is the one that signed David Beckham at the LA Galaxy. David had a word with Frank and said "take this boy on trial as a loan" and I went on loan. That was it.

I signed with the Quakes in 2016. John Doyle had been in contact with me since 2012. He followed my career at Aston Villa and Derby and called me every six months or so to check in. It came to a time where I was coming to the end of my contract with Derby and I was contemplating if I should stay in England and John presented a contract to me. I told him I would love to do it and wanted to win an MLS Cup.

Last year was a massive year for me. I got married and my son was born. Suddenly it all changed and it's been great. My wife has been really supportive of my career. We're building a lovely family and my son is now six months old. He's getting to be a big boy and is getting watch football with me as well. He is a Quakes fan. You never know, one day he might also play.

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IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
 IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
 IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father
IN MY WORDS: Simon Dawkins Reflects on Career Path, Becoming a Father



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