When North Carolina FC announced it would be moving from the USL Championship to USL League One in January 2021, a lot of people had their doubts; after the team took just one point from the first seven games, a lot of those doubts turned to disappointment. Now NCFC has seemed to turn the corner, collecting 11 points in the last six games.
The turnaround has been spearheaded by veterans like Robby Kristo and Nazmi Albadawi returning from injury, but the success and impact of young guns like Cole Frame and Jay Tee Kamara can’t be understated.
During the poor start to the season, the team struggled to see out close games, giving up late goals and dropping points. As the season has progressed however, young players are growing in maturity and confidence, allowing them to see out those games, especially with the help of the returning veterans.
“There were a lot of games in the beginning of the season where we were right in the heart of the game and we’re competing very well,” Albadawi said on July 30. “Then there were quite a few games where we gave up a goal pretty late to lose the game or to lose some points. As the seasons progress, and from those learning experiences, the players have gotten a little bit more mature in the game and started to understand really crucial moments in the game as well.”
The aforementioned Frame and Kamara have not only made a tangible impact on the team’s success this season, with Frame scoring two goals and Kamara grabbing three goals and five assists so far, the pair demonstrate the club’s commitment to youth development.
Frame, who has risen through the NCFC Youth ranks over the years, provides a tangible example of the pathway to the professional team to other young players at the club.
“He’s been a great example to young players in our club for staying honest with the process and then letting the hard work and everything that is earned after that be part of it,” said NCFC head coach John Bradford. “For young players to see our confidence in playing a Cole Frame and having him come into the training environment and do well enough to earn minutes within the game and then ultimately, he’s taken that opportunity and excelled.”
While Kamara did not come up through the club’s youth system, joining the team on loan from USL Championship side Louisville City FC, the 19-year-old’s success shows other young players around the country that NCFC is a desirable destination to get minutes and grow as a player.
“To be his age and to be able to come into a professional environment for the first time, because I think people see Jay Tee and they think he’s been playing pro forever and, in reality, he’s 10 games in or 12 games in and so he’s still learning a ton,” Bradford said. “Mixing that with the ability that he has, and everything that he can can achieve and go forward with, I think he is another good example.”
Of course, Kamara and Frame aren’t the only youth players to come in and make an impact. 18-year-old Selmir Miscic, another young player who joined the club on loan, has bagged three goals this season. Academy standouts like 15-year-old goalkeeper Nick Holliday, who made double digit saves in his professional debut, and 17-year-old Britton Fischer, just to name a few other examples, have come in and played well when they have needed to.
Since returning from lengthy injuries, Kristo and Albadawi have been able to bolster the young group. The pair are two of just four players on this year’s roster who remained from last year and their recent impacts have been huge.
In the last two games, Kristo has bagged four goals, earning himself back-to-back USL League One Player of the Week honors. While Albadawi’s impact isn’t as tangible as Kristo’s, his veteran presence, leadership and ability to read the game is noticeable in how NCFC plays when he is on the field.
Another player who’s return from injury has helped boost NCFC in recent weeks is Shermaine Martina. The start to Martina’s NCFC career took a while to really get going as COVID-19-related visa issues kept him from joining the team at the start of the season and injuries limited his minutes once he was with the team. Once he got healthy though, the left-footed center back has provided NCFC with depth at the position and some added versatility, giving Bradford the option of playing a three-back system.
NCFC is still bottom of the USL League One table, but with the team growing in confidence and just four points separating it from FC Tucson, who has played one more game, it likely won’t be there for too much longer.
