I grew up in Strasbourg, France — a border city where French and German cultures mix.
Soccer wasn’t something my family did; it was something the city breathed.
Everyone played in the streets.
I tried other sports — basketball, swimming, even combat sports — but every coach told my dad the same thing: “He can’t stop kicking the ball.”
So that’s what I did.
I learned technique and creativity on the pavement, imagination shaping every move. Then the RC Strasbourg Alsace academy taught me how to act like a professional — how to eat, train, speak, and carry myself.
Those lessons have never left me.
When the path to France’s top division closed, I moved through the semi-pro ranks. I played alongside men who’d seen the Champions League.
That drive to compete at the elite level eventually brought me across the ocean.
A New Country, A New Language
Coming to the United States was both exciting and humbling.
I couldn’t speak English. I didn’t know the food, the schedule, or the culture.
I started at Central Methodist University, an NAIA school, just trying to adapt — to learn the American game and to work on my English. A year and a half later, I transferred to Omaha, a Division I program that felt right the moment I spoke with the coaches.
Omaha had ambition. A city big enough for opportunity, calm enough for focus.
Here, I found people who cared about more than just their individual goals.
At UNO, we live by a simple rule: all together. No one’s above the team, and no one gets left behind.
That’s what I love most — the family we’ve built.
Pride and Perspective
Last year, I was invited to represent Laos — my mother’s birthplace — at the Southeast Asian Games.
Wearing that jersey, hearing the anthem, feeling millions of eyes on us. It changed me.
International play taught me pressure at another level, but it also deepened my gratitude for the game.
That perspective became even clearer this summer when I went home to France for what was supposed to be a routine visa renewal.
Instead, I was stuck — weeks away from the life I’d built here, from my fiancée, my teammates, my purpose.
It was one of the hardest stretches of my life.
I slept on an air mattress at my parents’ house, unsure if I’d be allowed to return.
Thanks to Coach Donovan Dowling, Director of Athletics Adrian Dowell, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, and many others who fought for my case, I finally came back.
When I stepped onto the field against Creighton, I didn’t score — but I didn’t need to.
Just being there was enough.
The Record
A few games later, I scored again — and again — and eventually broke the program’s all-time goals record.
People asked how it felt. Honestly? It’s complicated.
Records are nice, but soccer is collective.
I’m proud to represent Omaha, but what matters most is what comes next — how we finish this season together, what legacy we leave for the next players.
When people think of Omaha Men’s Soccer, I hope they don’t just think of my goals.
I hope they think of our standard — the way we play for one another, the way we carry ourselves off the field.
More to Give
This program gave me everything: a degree, a second home, and a belief in what a family can be.
Now I’m chasing what’s next — maybe professional soccer, maybe new professional opportunities.
But whatever comes, I’ll bring the same mindset I learned here: be humble, stay focused, lift the people around you.
Because the goals fade.
The person you become doesn’t.