sjearthquakes.com:Would you say the Earthquakes Academy prepared you for college soccer?
Josh Morton: āOf course. I went to the Quakes as a midfielder from my club team. I had played midfield my entire life. They tried me at center back and I played that my junior and senior year of high school with them. They really drilled the technique of center back into me. They really prepared me in a very short amount of time to come to Cal. Cal is a prestigious school for soccer and they did very well to prepare me in the short amount of time that they had to transition me to defense.ā
SJEQ: Talk about your adjustment from your high school soccer experiences to your college soccer experience.
JM: āIn high school, I drove to San Jose almost every day about an hour and a half for practice, so school would end, Iād drive an hour and a half to practice, practice, come back, try to do as much studying as I could, go to sleep, and do it all again the next day. I couldnāt really form a schedule in high school, so being able to pick my classes and be able to manage my time a lot better and to have the opportunity to take care of myself off the field. I can set up video sessions with my coaches, eat proper meals before and after practice, and really take care of myself.ā
SJEQ:Explain the difference between training with the Earthquakes Academy and training with Cal.
JM: āFor the Earthquakes, weād practice three times a week. The guys on the team are from all over the Bay Area so its hard to get everyone in one spot four or five times a week. Everyone on the Cal team lives in Berkeley. Weāre all within a mile of each other. Itās really easy to make a 30 minute practice before a game or a swimming session after a game.ā
SJEQ:When youāre playing in an academy, youāre traveling every week all across the country. How nice is it to just walk from your dorm on campus to training and home matches?
JM: āIts nice, because I drove so much in high school. It was just a total energy zapper. The fact that I donāt have to travel every day is really nice. It gives me a lot more time. Most of that time is spent taking care of my school work, because thatās a nonstop job I have here.ā
SJEQ:How have you adjusted to the collegiate game?
JM: āBoth center backs on the team went to the draft when I came in, so the position was wide open. Having little experience and starting as a freshman was really a roller coaster. I didnāt know what to expect. I feel like this past year, even though we didnāt make the playoffs and didnāt have the best year in the world, I feel like Iāve adjusted a lot better. We had a really young team this year though, and its kind of nice to be a leader on the team to the freshmen. Most of our team consists of sophomores and freshmen, so I feel like it's my job on the team to lead the younger players a bit more. It's forcing me to grow up a little bit and lead the team.ā
SJEQ:Take us through your first collegiate goal against Davidson.
JM: āIt was a really exciting time, trying to get a goal. It was a corner kick that I went up for. Davidson half cleared it, it went out for a throw-in, and I just decided to stay up. Jose [Carrera-Garcia] and Paul [Salcedo] did their thing and Paul got down the line and crossed it, I happened to be in the right spot at the right time. I hit it off the crossbar and in.ā
SJEQ:Talk about your recent PDL experience with Burlingame Dragons FC?
JM: āI found it was a really cool experience, having a PDL team that was linked to the Earthquakes that brought out tremendous crowds at home games. Dana Taylor was a great coach and he brought in a lot of good players. I had a lot of fun with the new friends that I made, and overall, I thought it was a really good experience.
SJEQ:Do you keep in touch with your academy teammates?
JM: āAbsolutely, especially because Iām in the Bay Area, itās really easy to keep in touch with ex-Quakes guys. I played Amir [Bashti] twice this year, so Iāve been chatting with him a little bit. I talk to Max [Mirner] and Remi [Prieur] a lot because theyāre just over at St. Maryās. All the guys that were in my graduating class, we had a really special brotherhood that canāt be broken. I know whenever we see each other next itāll be really exciting.ā
SJEQ:What advice would you give to current academy players?
JM: āDonāt take any practice or games for granted. You never know who is watching. There are scouts at every game, donāt take your foot off the pedal. That can be challenging at times with traveling and hard schedules in high school, but trust me, it will be worth it."
SJEQ: What is the best advice youāve gotten from the Earthquakesā Academy?
JM: āWhen Marquise White said āwinning is fun, winning is important, but thatās not the reason why weāre playing and thatās not the reason why youāre here in this academy. The reason is to make you a better player. Everyone has a part of their game that they can work on. Even professionals arenāt perfect. They always have things to work on. Know that youāre not going to be perfect on every given day, but you can work to make yourself just as close to that as you can.āā