About ‘Piette Playing Global’

The posts you’ll see in ‘Piette Playing Global’ are just a few of the many images from my travel and playing experiences, as a pro soccer player.  These playing days taught me that I wasn’t good enough to play in a world class league and how technique trumps athleticism at the higher level.  You can be the best in your town or be the fastest player in your league, but please continue wanting to improve technically. Now I am so happy teaching players, parents and coaches how to better improve and promote their talents.

FYI, these photos are in no order of when I played.  After being drafted by FC Dallas in the Major League Soccer Superdraft, and spending about a month in pre-season in both Santiago, Chile and in Dallas I was told I wouldn’t get playing time in games.  So I knew my college coach could get me a trail in Denmark, which is where I stayed for a few months training with a 2nd division team.  The coach liked me and got me to Singapore, where it was arranged that I stay for 1 month and if I liked it sign.  Well I didn’t like it that much and ended up coming back to Denmark, where I would stay for a few weeks longer before coming back to the U.S.  I think maturity wise, I lost a lot of opportunity in Asia and Europe.  I was expecting something better and not realizing you have to make your way up.  MLS was so professional that I was looking for that, not knowing that it’s hard to find worldwide.

Jeremie Piette Portmore United, Jamaica

Between season’s playing with the Vancouver Whitecaps I went to play in the CONCACAF Club Championship with Portmore United for 3 months during the Winter. Portmore represented the best team out of the Caribbean, while 2 MLS teams, 4 Mexican Teams and 3 Central American teams also competed. One of my old teammates, connected me with an agent who had a base in Jamaica, so the hopes at the time was to get noticed by one of the Mexican clubs. The reason is because Mexican futbol is big money, paying their player top 5 or 6 worldwide. My time in Kingston, Jamaica was a story in itself. Very dangerous and crazy stories!

Piette in Singapore, Asia

During my time in Singapore I had a good time site seeing and learning the culture. The football/soccer was exciting, with a good amount of foreigners from Brazil and Eastern European Countries. I was the only American playing soccer in Singapore. There was another foreigner on our team from Australia, who had played all over the globe.  Singapore used to be a place where foreigners made good money, while the locals didn’t.

The clubs made much of their money from basically gambling machines in the clubhouse.  Back then there were not cell phones, and so I asked the club if I could call back home and let them know I was all situated.  They took me to make the call in the basement where it seemed they had some of their offices.  There were slot machines and old men gambling.  I’ll never forget seeing a man with little things to keep his eyes open.

Practice would be in the morning, so there would be days that I would just go sightseeing.  This is a photo below where the city is the background.  The ocean/beach are in front of me.  Beautiful place!

Jeremie Piette playing against L.A. Galaxy

While playing in Puerto Rico with the Islanders, we played against LA Galaxy and FC Dallas during a pre-season tournament. LA ended up winning the whole thing. New York was also there competing, but we didn’t play them.

[Piette] Vancouver Whitecaps vs Montreal Impact

This match was actually 10 days after I had microscopic surgery on my left knee. The injury started at the end of the season before. I felt some pain in my knee after the last game of the previous season, and then all season in Jamaica. Then a few games in, I felt it tear. Every time I would turn to my right using my left knee to put weight on is when I felt the pain. So after surgery, 10 days later we traveled to Montreal to play the Impact. I was not supposed to play yet, but with so many injuries I ended up starting. I played the whole game and it ended in a 0-0 tie.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Montreal

Piette defending Jonny Menyongar