USA Men’s Soccer Olympic team member and New York Red Bulls defender John Tolkin could not hide the fact of just how happy he is since he made the Red, White and Blue crew for the upcoming 2024 Paris, Olympics.
It has been a pinch me, incredulous feeling for the Chatham, N.J., native, accomplishing something he said he never envisioned when he first started playing professional soccer as an adolescent.
“It’s kind of trippy. Five years ago, I started playing (professionally), and if I thought this would happen down the line, I would laugh at myself a little bit,” Tolkin said via a Zoom interview from Paris on Monday. “But it’s surreal being here, getting ready to prepare for the first game. It’s really cool and an honor.”
Right now, Tolkin and Team USA Men’s soccer are in Bordeaux, France, since last Monday, for a two-week training camp, preparing for a friendly against Spain on Thursday, July 18th. Then, they will participate in Group A action against hosts France on Wednesday, July 24.
“It’s kind of similar, but obliviously, it’s a different style of play here compared to the Red Bulls,” he said of the training for international competition versus Major League Soccer (MLS) action.
“We have our different ideas, but more just preparation towards the tournament. You know, kind of what we’re going to see against France in the first game. (We’re) just trying a bunch of new things and getting in that mindset that every game is a must-win for us.”
In his fifth season with the Red Bulls, Tolkin, a 2023 MLS All-Star, said his game has evolved from focusing on what he can do on the pitch for his soccer career to being more of team-orientated field general–an attitude that has surely helped him make the 2024 USA Men’s Olympic squad.
“As a young guy, you try and take in all the information you can,” the 22-year-old Tolkin said. “Maybe it’s more self-performance related and kind of making name for yourself and establishing that starting role on your team. As I gone through the years, I think it kind of went from myself and my performance to trying to help my teammates as well and then being more of a vocal leader.
“Last year, especially, I tried to grow in that area,” Tolkin added. “This year, I ‘m trying to tie it all together with performance and leadership.”
After for all the hard work and dedication to the sport, Tolkin said his mom had a priceless, memorable reaction to him making the USA Men’s Olympic roster that helped him put it all into perspective.
“After I got off the phone, I called my mom that I made the team,” he recalled. “She just started crying because of the hard that she has put in, to where we started to where we are now. I think then I kind of realized how deep it really goes. It was a humbling moment, to be honest.”
— Jerry Del Priore
Photo: Courtesy of New York Red Bulls.
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