Sixteen years ago Major League Soccer embarked on a new path with the first ever MLS SuperDraft. For one man, that day holds a special fondness as he made history by becoming the first ever SuperDraft pick. “I certainly don’t answer the phone with, ‘Hi, I’m former number one draft pick, Steve Shak’. I think that would be pretty arrogant,” Shak says.

Currently residing in Charlotte, North Carolina, Shak acknowledges he may not hold the same status in the game as some players from the 2000 draft, which included his UCLA teammate and former Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra. “I don’t get a call every year or anything like that,” he explains. “For a lot of my life I had a chip on my shoulder because their careers [Bocanegra & Danny Califf] went in the direction I wanted my career to go, but it just didn’t happen. I blamed it on everybody else, [laughs] until you just get honest with yourself.”

Now a highly produced spectacle broadcast live on ESPN, Shak’s experience in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was somewhat different. “I did find some pictures of that day and I thought, wow, it looks a lot different now,” he says, laughing. Drafted just days before his 22nd birthday, he was selected by the New York Red Bulls (then the New York/New Jersey MetroStars).

For Metrostars coach Octavio Zambrano familiarity was important, with all but one of his picks being players he had previously coached. “He coached me for like a year at youth soccer, so he knew me,” Shak says. “You’d have to ask him why he picked me. From what he told me and what I read, he believed in me. That’s a good feeling to have as a player. He saw a lot of potential in me, and he wasn’t the only one. You look at the picks and you never know, there are star players that are picked in the third or fourth round. It’s the same as in every sport, you just don’t know.”

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Yet despite having a history with Zambrano, it did not stop Shak feeling a sense of disbelief when he heard the league’s commissioner, Don Garber, announce his name. “I was just shocked,” he recalls. “There were so many good players and to be picked first with the group that was in the room was quite an honour. I don’t remember what I said [at the podium] but I gave thanks to the team for picking me, I thanked my parents, my university, and I’m a Christian so I thanked the Lord Jesus Christ. I took some photos and that was it.”



Chosen first overall, there was sizeable expectation placed on Shak. News reports at the time described him as ‘the most promising player in the draft’. “I certainly felt pressure as the first pick,” he admits. “I don’t know what it’s like to be second, third, or 20th, but as an athlete I guarantee all those other guys put pressure on themselves. The difference may be that the media have a different expectation of the number one than the number two or three, but that number two or three is number one for that team that chooses them. I think one of the things that makes an athlete capable of competing at that level is compartmentalising what other people think and focusing on your game and your contribution to the team. The mental side of the game is such a challenging aspect to navigate. If you don’t do it well you’ll get eaten alive.”

Jumping from college soccer into the professional ranks, Shak now listed World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus amongst his teammates. “It was amazing,” Shak says of his time with Matthäus. “I learned a lot from him. I played with a lot of idols, but Lothar was way at the top of the list. I don’t think he was at the top of his game when he came to us, but it was still an incredible experience. To ask questions, to train with him, to see how incredible he was technically, it was great.”

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