Wellington Phoenix Reserves' Calvin Harris in action during the ISPS Handa Premiership 2018/19 game between Wellington Phoenix Reserves and Waitakere United. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Wellington Phoenix Reserves' Calvin Harris in action during the ISPS Handa Premiership 2018/19 game between Wellington Phoenix Reserves and Waitakere United. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Google Calvin Harris and you'll read about the astonishingly successful Scottish DJ, record producer, singer and songwriter with 10-million Instagram followers and an estimated net worth of $300-million.
But dig a little deeper and you'll find a young footballer making his first ripples in the global sporting ocean, having cuthis teeth as a teenager at the Wellington Phoenix Academy.
The rise of Calvin Harris (the footballer) since he left New Zealand in 2018 has been an impressive one, so much so that the 20-year-old attacker was selected second overall in last month's MLS (Major League Soccer) Super Draft and will soon take up his first professional contract at FC Cincinnati.
"The main thing for a player going into the draft is to be wanted by the club," Harris told the NZ Herald.
"You can be picked, but having that true feeling of being wanted is the most important thing.
"I spoke to a few clubs, and Cincinnati was one of them. I spoke to (Director of Scouting and Player Recruitment) Hunter Freeman and it was a really good conversation. I could see and hear the interest he had in me and it kind of fell into place on the day.
"When I was picked by them it was a good moment for me and I was excited straight away to get into training and for the future," he said.
Harris has spent the last two years playing at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, scoring 25 goals in 32 appearances and earning a Generation Adidas contract, offered by MLS to players with the potential of playing professionally. It also guaranteed him a place in the 2021 draft and means his salary will sit outside the cap his team can spend on players.
"You can be picked up by literally any of the teams that have picks," said Harris, explaining the draft.
Wellington Phoenix Reserves' Calvin Harris shoot the ball past Team Wellington's captain Justin Gulley during the ISPS Handa Premiership 2018/19 game. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
"They have predictions beforehand of who will go where, but they're not always as correct as they hope to be.
"It's a bit of a step into the unknown, but in the same breath it's a great opportunity and you get to talk to a variety of clubs beforehand, learn a bit about them and they learn a bit about you."
The clubs with the first four picks in the Super Draft (Austin FC, FC Cincinnati, Houston and DC United) all made personal contact with Harris before the draft, which was held via Zoom.
When Austin selected midfielder Daniel Pereira with the number one overall pick, it was thought FC Cincinnati might choose another midfielder, Philip Mayaka, who was projected to be the top pick. Instead, it was Harris's name read out.
"To hear my name picked second was a relief, but mainly excitement based off the conversations I'd had," said Harris.
"I wanted to be somewhere I thought I could improve and develop and FC Cincinnati seems like a good place for me. I think I'm going to learn a lot and I'm looking forward to it."
Cincinnati joined MLS as an expansion franchise in 2019 and are coached by former Manchester United and Dutch international defender Jaap Stam.
Harris, whose father Terry played professionally for Sheffield Wednesday, was born in England, moved to Hong Kong at the age of 10 and then onto Wellington where he was awarded a scholarship with the Phoenix at 14.
The sticking point was that as a foreign-born player, he was unable to play senior football in New Zealand until he turned 18, but debuted for the Phoenix as a 16-year-old in a Sister City Cup game against Beijing BG in 2017. He also played in three Soccer Sevens tournaments in Hong Kong.
Upon turning 18, he impressed for the club's reserve side but not enough for first team coach Mark Rudan to gamble on an unproven teenager as one of his five allowed A-League imports, sending Harris down the state-side route to Wake Forest.
"I'm a very competitive person," said Harris.
"I don't like to lose and my team-mates here and back in Wellington will attest to that.
"I think it's also important to enjoy what you do, because if you're not, it's just not going to work out in the long run. You really do have to love it.
"But you have to get the balance right in life as well and that's what I always tried to do in Wellington and at Wake; balancing football with schoolwork, my social life and family time.
"I think I've done a good job so far and I just have to keep doing it for the foreseeable future."
You can follow Calvin Harris and his footballing journey on Instagram (calvinharris2000) and twitter (@calvinh2000).
