By Quin Welch, LouCity Insider
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Of the 17 players at Louisville City FC’s invitational trials this week, each took a different road to trying out for the one of the United Soccer League’s top clubs. Kenny Doublette, however, faced some particularly challenging circumstances.
Doublette, who scored 15 goals and dished out five assists for Southern New Hampshire University in 2015, hails from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The striker’s first step to competing for a roster spot as part of a professional Club began in 2007, when he and his family decided to leave the Western hemisphere’s poorest country to chase an American dream.
“I came here when I was 16 years old,” Doublette said.
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The former SNHU player said coming to a new country was a massive obstacle, but immersing himself into American pop culture helped him ease into his transition.
“I didn’t know any English so it was really tough,” Doublette said. “Thank God for video games and newspapers, they got me using the language. I used to repeat a lot of stuff on TV and I used to read a lot.”
On top of what Doublette learned on his own through print, video games (his favorite game wasGears of War) and TV, he learned English by taking part in an English Second Language program at his high school in Greenwich, Conn.
“When I came here, having an ESL program was a great opportunity for me,” Doublette said. “I could deal with other people who didn’t know English as well, so the learning process at Greenwich High School was the best thing that happened to me.”
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In addition to the language barrier, Doublette said moving from the Caribbean to the American Northeast was a major adjustment.
“It was cold. The Caribbean is really hot so it was really hard to adjust,” he said. “I went to a school in Ohio and then I went to Southern New Hampshire, and then it got colder.”
The Haiti native said his upbringing helps fuel his fire as a fierce competitor.
“I’m very humble and I grew up in Haiti,” Doublette said. “I’m going to push myself and when I see other people pushing me, I get better. The past two days have been very hard (with coach James O’Connor and Louisville City) but, at the same time, I’ve gotten better each day.”
Doublette said that although he’s competing with other players for a roster spot, he’s going to do what he can to help his fellow trialists.
“I just came here for an opportunity so I’m going to push myself to get better,” Doublette said. “If I can do anything to help anybody who wants to give up, I’m going to push them as well.”
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This might be Doublette’s first time training with Louisville City, but seeing a familiar face has helped make him more comfortable over the course of the trials.
“I’m playing with (new LouCity signing) Mark-Anthony (Kaye). I went to Toronto FC so I’ve played with him before,” Doublette said.
Doublette said he enjoys playing with the Canadian because Kaye pushes him to the max and is brutally honest.
“Like today, when I made a mistake, he told me,” Doublette said. “He doesn’t hold back.”
All in all, Doublette said he’s grateful for the opportunity to show his skills in Louisville.
“It feels like a dream come true.”
Entering the 2016 preseason this month, Louisville City FC has returned 13 players from the 2015 roster while adding new additions like Kaye and MLS Cup-winning forward Chandler Hoffman, University of Louisville alumnus Paolo DelPiccolo and University of Kentucky alumnus George Davis IV.
O’Connor and his team will begin training with a two-week camp at the state-of-the-art IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., before returning to Louisville for a four-game preseason schedule.
Louisville City FC will begin regular season play on March 26 at Charlotte Independence. LouCity then returns to Louisville Slugger Field on April 2 to host New York Red Bulls II in the home opener, with a special 3 p.m. kickoff.
Fans can stay up to date with all of Louisville City’s breaking news, roster updates and ticketing information by following the Club on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Season tickets are available for Louisville City’s historic second season via the Club’s official website.
