The Hornets men’s soccer team just might have the most talented 5-year-old to ever play the game of soccer. He’s probably one of the biggest ones too. Think I’m kidding?

Junior Utodi Madu is an all-conference performer and co-captain for Sacramento State, but technically he has only had five birthdays. Madu was born on Feb. 29, 1984, making him one of the few people that only celebrate the actual day of their birth every four years, leap years.

“Not many people know that, but I like it because it’s different,” Madu said.

But as uncommon as his birthday is, Madu is a rare find in other ways as well. The junior defender is also one of the few African-American players in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Madu is an African-American in the truest sense of the word.

His parents were born and raised in Nigeria, where soccer is the most popular sport, before they moved to America, making Madu the first generation of his family to be born in the United States.

Making the transition, for Madu and his family, has been one that has been difficult because the two nations are so different according to Madu.

“Nigeria is more of a community-oriented place where everything is different-customs, way of life, everything-compared to America and my parents raise me that way, but I have an understanding of how Americans run their family too.”

By taking his teachings from his parents and his experiences in his childhood, Madu said he gets the best of both worlds.

But it’s not the race card that Madu is interested in; he’s more into cards of the yellow and red variety-Although he doesn’t like to receive them.

Coming from a soccer nation, Madu’s parents got him into sports, including soccer, at a young age. Madu got into it and began playing at a high level. When he entered college, he had a scholarship to play soccer and had high hopes. However, during that time, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to play soccer everyday and make the commitment that was required to play at the collegiate level.

So Madu walked away from the soccer team and took his sophomore season off. With no soccer practice or games, he expected to be able to focus more on his studies and the college experience. What did he find?

“Everything was the same, except that I missed the game of soccer,” he said. “The running too, I even missed the running.”

So last season Madu returned, refocused and reenergized. He had lost his scholarship by leaving the team and had to prove himself once again to his coaches and teammates.

“It was a hard decision to stop playing because my mom had worked so hard to allow me to play soccer,” Madu said. “She supported me and paid for me to play competitive soccer and help me get to the collegiate level by working multiple jobs.”

Hard work is a common feature in Madu’s family as he worked hard to come back and was rewarded for his play when he was named All-Conference second team.

This season, he’s worked even harder to try and get the seniors to the promised lands of the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t want to disappoint the seniors,” Madu said. “I think that’s how you have to approach the game because I have next year, but they don’t.”

Off the field, Madu is studying Criminal Justice; however, he occasionally takes his major to the field.

“I just bring passion to the field,” Madu said. “I try to be a leader with my actions and will do anything to get the win.”

This season he and the rest of the Hornets have won more matches since joining Division I in 1991 and Madu would like that to continue.

“When I leave, I want to have this program be better off when I leave than when I arrived,” Madu said. “I want to be able to come back and see a successful program in the future.”

Next season, Madu might still technically only be five, but he’ll continue to be one five-year-old that opponents don’t like to see, or hear, lining up for the Hornets.

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Tyler Stalker can be reached at [email protected]