Soccer was more than a way for Roy Boateng to make friends after he moved from Ghana to California. It proved to be a steadying presence, and one of the few joys when his life was turned upside down.



Boateng, taken in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls earlier this month, was just eight years old when his family decided to come to the United States. He doesn’t remember the conversation well, he simply remembers being told that his family wanted more opportunities. His uncle, Ofori Botwe, lived in northern California’s Sonoma County, and the plan was for the whole family to move in with him.



Boateng was told by his parents that he was going ahead of them to live with his uncle and that his parents would follow.



The transition wasn’t easy. For the first month, he ate only french fries—the one thing he liked. School was different, as was the American culture. Everything was changing for him. He wondered when...