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Article: Onstad's aging, but don't let on


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Onstad's aging, but don't let on.

Great article on a great guy: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/7007167.html

That he's older than the parents of the Dynamo's 20-year-old midfielder Danny Cruz is the kind of thing he's proud of.

“It's a badge of honor,” he said. “Every once in a while, when I get some grief in away stadiums, I certainly let them know. I ask them how old they are and how their potbellies are going.

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Sorry, even if they call me "old cut-and-paste" here, I am copying this sucker, because I have learned from experience that these webpages disappear, and they are too good to lose.

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Commentary

Onstad's aging, but don't let on

By RICHARD JUSTICE

Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle

May 15, 2010, 11:34PM

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OK, there was this one team he played on where some of the toughest competition was on payday.

“Paychecks bounced,” Pat Onstad said. “Guys would get their checks and race off after practice to see who could get them cashed first. The first three or four to the bank got their money, and the rest were left out.”

He laughs about it because the memories are so fresh and because he was young and doing what he loved.

And that's the best part of this story. At 42, Pat Onstad is still doing what he loves and still doing it well.

“He's amazing,” Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said.

He's amazing on many levels, and not just because he's the oldest player in MLS history or because he loves soccer as much as ever.

He's amazing because he might be the best goalie the MLS has had (1.05 goals-against average), and because he's playing at a high level. He's amazing because he remains meticulous in his preparation, careful about his diet.

His streak of playing every minute of 51 consecutive MLS matches could be broken next week if, as expected, he plays for Team Canada against Argentina.

“He got to us maybe a little late in his career,” Dynamo goalkeepers coach Tim Hanley said. “It's kind of funny. When he first came in '03, we were like ‘OK, he'll play a couple of years.' He was 35 at the time. Then it's a couple of years, a couple of years. He just keeps going.

“Like Dominic says, everyone is waiting for him to retire except him.”

Onstad's original love growing up in Vancouver was hockey.

“I was a typical Canadian,” he said. “I tried to pick hockey, but I wasn't a good enough skater. Fortunately, I found out pretty early. Soccer kind of picked me.”

That he's older than the parents of the Dynamo's 20-year-old midfielder Danny Cruz is the kind of thing he's proud of.

“It's a badge of honor,” he said. “Every once in a while, when I get some grief in away stadiums, I certainly let them know. I ask them how old they are and how their potbellies are going.

“I'm pretty proud of the fact that I'm still playing at my age and hopefully still contributing to my team.”

He can be intimidating. For instance, there was the young player who was told he would be rooming with Onstad on the next road trip.

Tread lightly

And, he was told, rooming with Onstad meant asking for permission to watch television, go to the bathroom, order room service, etc., because Pat got fussy if he didn't get his rest.

Beyond the jokes are a desire and competitive fire that make him special. He began playing club soccer in his teens and has been on so many teams he's usually stumped when teammates hold a copy of his résumé and ask him to name them all.

“Great memories,” he said. “I've made a lot of friends along the way. Had some interesting stories to tell. It's been a great experience. I've played in front of 250 people, and it was a so-called professional game. I've played on fields that were torn up and had three or four lights.”

And there were the Rochester Raging Rhinos. That's the team he was on when he met his future wife, Becky, during a trip to Raleigh.

She's a registered nurse, and they're the parents of three. He has degrees in human kinetics and education, and even retired for a time to teach school.

“It's the competition you miss,” he said. “No matter what sport it is, it's the competition. I think that'll be the thing I miss the most — the games and being able to match yourself against the best players in the league.

“I've been fortunate to be able to do that for a long time.”

Student of the game

Maybe it's focusing on proper technique that has allowed him to stay healthy all these years at a position where the physical pounding can be relentless.

Onstad jokes he would never be able to run up and down the field with his teammates, but in his directing of traffic and aligning of defenders, he has turned his position into something of an art.

“I think he gets it,” Hanley said. “He has had to work really hard his entire life. It's the old-school mentality. He appreciates and understands that you're not in the game very long, but you're out of it for a long time. When he got his chance to come into the MLS, he has done everything right.“

He has taken a firsthand role in the business of the MLS, especially in helping negotiate a new labor deal. Maybe only a player who has had paychecks bounce could appreciate what the MLS has constructed.

“It has given me an opportunity to make a pretty good living and meet a lot of great people,” he said. “I'd love to play until I'm 50. Ultimately, it'll come down to Dom and whether he feels I can contribute to the team. If I can't, that's when I'll have to politely step away.”

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