Bell standout brings ‘streets of the Congo’ soccer to Hurst

During the course of a Hurst United FC ’99 Boys soccer match, spectators might hear head coach Bryan Matthews yell out, “Streets of the Congo.” These four words, uttered at such a time, might be confusing and contextually meaningless to some, but not to Dan Kamba. For Kamba, those four words remind him how to approach the game of soccer. And in a greater sense, those four words tell a lot about Kamba’s remarkable story.

Kamba, who recently finished his sophomore year at L.D. Bell, was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He relocated to Texas with his family in early 2013 – a move made with Dan’s future in mind.

“My dad, he cares for us a lot,” said Kamba, who also speaks French.

Hoping the United States offered better opportunities for the future, Kamba and his family arrived in the Mid-Cities, initially living with Dan’s uncle, who had been here for a few years already.

One way Kamba met people was by playing soccer at the park. The pickup games were something akin to how he honed his craft in his native Africa, playing in loosely organized sandlot games in his village.

Later in 2013, the ’99 Boys team at Hurst United had open roster spots. Matthews encouraged his players to recruit friends who might fit into the team. Edwin Hernandez, who had befriended Kamba, invited the newcomer to try out for his club.

“When we first saw Dan you could tell that there was a tremendous amount of raw talent,” Matthews said. “My first question to him was, “Where did you come from?”

The early pieces of a storybook script were in place.

“I don’t want to sound cliché, but it really was like that Hollywood story where the scout goes over to a foreign land and spots this kid with tremendous talent and scoops him up and brings him back to the states,” Matthews said. “But here I am in Hurst, Texas, and this kid just sort of shows up on my soccer field.”

It would stand to reason that Kamba’s transition from street ball to organized select soccer would have its wrinkles, but his mentality made it smoother than expected.

“He was ready,” Matthews said. “He was ready to soak it all up like a sponge. He was enjoying every moment of playing organized soccer in the fashion that he had always envisioned.”

If there was any drawback, it was that competitive soccer reined in Kamba’s natural abilities.

“When he would play freely in the beginning it was free-flowing and attacking – everything you need to be a good striker,” Matthews said. “But once he got into organized soccer, you could see that his brain was starting to think so much about how to play organized within a team because he’d never done that before. It was sort of taking away from that natural instinct and ability that he had.”

And that’s where “streets of the Congo” was born.

“What we came up with was a saying,” Matthews explained. “When I would see him get into that rut where he was thinking too much about the game, I would yell out, “Streets of the Congo,” and that would sort of remind him to play the way he played before he was trying to fit into a team. It helped him relax and get into the flow of the game and he could rely on his natural ability.”

Kamba still plays with HUFC, and spent part of last season on the varsity squad at Bell. He was named all-district honorable mention in 7-6A.

“He contributed the way I thought he would,” Bell coach Scott Campbell said. “He’s high-energy; he’s a good finisher. At the JV level he was scoring quite frequently and doing a real good job. That’s one of the reasons we brought him up, was to reward him for his work rate and productivity.”

The Raiders missed the playoffs in 2015, but graduated only three senior starters and return a solid group of youngsters, including Kamba. That has Campbell excited about the future.

“We were young and I was very pleased with how we played last year,” Campbell added. “Looking at the competition for next year, I’ll think we’ll be very solid.”

Kamba agrees, with confidence.

“Next year, I’m sure we’re going to go to the playoffs,” he said. “I’m sure of it.”

Next year Kamba will also continue playing for club and school. He admits there are unique challenges and opportunities within each, but notes high school soccer does have one advantage.

“I like playing high school because I’m playing with people who are older than me,” he said. “Select is all people the same age.”

But Dan – and his coaches – are also looking even beyond the next soccer season.

“The sky is the limit for Dan, as far as where he can go,” Matthews said. “He’s a great kid, has a great head on his shoulders and loves to play the game of soccer.

“Soccer is definitely a way for him to continue to chase his dreams, whether that’s soccer or whatever comes after high school,” he added. “It’s definitely going to be a great shot for him to be able to do something special.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Bell standout brings ‘streets of the Congo’ soccer to Hurst."