Standing at 5’9 and 165 lbs, the Columbus Crew SC’s Ethan Finlay is not the traditional build for ice hockey, a sport that is lightning quick and often physically punishing.

However the sport was in his blood. “My dad was a hockey player from Canada so I was actually skating when I was four,” Finlay says.

Consequently the trajectory for his future seemed obvious, that was at least until the family moved from Superior, Wisconsin, to North Carolina and the ice disappeared. “There just wasn’t any [in North Carolina],” Finlay explains.

The move facilitated a number of changes for the family, including a new sporting focus for young Ethan. His first exposure to the game arrived due to his Dad coaching his older brother’s indoor soccer team - while young Ethan ran around the gymnasium. Then one day, with the team a player light, Finlay’s Dad opted to include him.

His appearance is best described as a cameo - a rogue ball to the face giving him a bloody nose and a spell on the bench alongside his concerned mother. Yet something had been planted in Finlay. A desire that took him to Creighton University four four years and then onto the Columbus Crew SC via the 2012 SuperDraft.

In between there was hours of hard work to make the dream happen. At 14, to earn money for a car to make travelling between soccer practice and school easier he took a job at McDonalds, “I was the fry guy for six to eight months,“ he says , “It was somewhat embarrassing and not a lot of people knew about it.”

Thankfully for the 25-year-old he was also blessed with supportive parents. One Christmas he received a set of weights as an extra gift from Santa Claus. With his Dad also well versed in the finer details of physiology he helped Ethan improve his speed and quickness across the grass; borrowing a theory from Hockey. “It’s like Wayne Gretzky you know, you can’t hit what you can’t catch,” Finlay said.

That drive to constantly improve is well suited to the Crew SC locker room, as is his seemingly endless supply of energy. His hobby of reading non-fiction is cast alongside a love for nature, playing foot golf (he suggests using the top of your foot for putting) and even games of traditional golf with teammate Steve Clark.

Clark is both a close friend and also a mentor - both of which Finlay reveals he is not short of in Columbus. He cites Gregg Berhalter as one of the reasons his game has further improved this season: “Timing of my movements,” Finlay replies when asked what has been Berhalter’s greatest lesson. “Gregg was a defender himself and he always talks about how you can get away from the centre-back or the left-back. We watch a lot of clips of me playing and I also do a lot of work with Josh Wolff too.”

That extra time spent on the practice field has clearly paid off as both Finlay and the team thrive. So much so in fact that along with teammate Kei Kamara he was selected for the MLS All-Star match against Tottenham Hotspur last month.

Granted 45 minutes against Mauricio Pochettino’s side his defining moment would typify his play on the field. Chasing a lost ball he kept it in; then poked it back around his opponent to earn a crossing opportunity. “I wasn’t going to give up on the ball,” Finlay says with a laugh.

A game that was broadcast internationally, there is a chance it may have crossed the eyes of U.S. men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Finlay’s international prospects are a carefully broached subject; his answer somewhat understated. “It’s a challenge I’d love to take on,” he says, before confirming he is yet to have any dialogue with Klinsmann over a call-up.

He certainly seems ready for the challenge given he has 7 goals and 13 assists in MLS this season. Playing in a team that once again looks set for the play-offs many attribute that to the holistic approach. Berhalter has ignored the allure of big names amid the arrival of players such as: Andrea Pirlo, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Sebastian Giovinco.

“Gregg’s not going to bring a guy here if he does not fit the mould of our team,” Finlay says in response to why Berhalter has operated in such a way. “No player, even Federico [Higuain], is bigger than the group. We have a system that we like to play here and we’re not going to bring in a player - even if he’s world class - and change our game to just fit one guy. Gregg has said from day one we’re going to have success as a team and he’s backed that up with every move he’s made.”

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