At 15 years old, David Norman has already seen more of the world than most.
And this week the Coquitlam teen adds Mexico City to his travel list as he joins the Canadian National Men's U15 soccer team for the 2013 Copa Mexico de Naciones.
"When I was 12 I went to the Danone Nations Cup in South Africa. That was a really good experience and there was some really good teams," said the centre midfielder. "I've also trained with a team called Mainz 05 in Germany - I've been there three times for one-month stints."
Norman will now be part of a Canadian squad that is in a group with Paraguay, Chile and Mexico. While it can be a little intimidating to go up against such traditional soccer powers, Norman says he's "just going to go in with the attitude that they're another 11 boys playing soccer. There's nothing to really be afraid of, just go out there and play as hard as we can and I think we'll have a good chance."
Norman's soccer career began with Coquitlam Metro Ford before he moved on to the Whitecaps Select program at age nine. He's now in the Whitecaps residency program full time, playing for the Whitecaps in the USSDA league against players a year or two older than himself.
The Charles Best secondary student lists the two trips he made with the Whitecaps to the Surf Cup in San Diego among the highlights of his young career, going to the semifinals the first year and losing in the finals the next.
"No Canadian team has ever won that and we're just the second Canadian team to make the finals."
Norman models his game after Darren Fletcher - a midfielder with Manchester United and captain of the Scottish national team - describing himself as "a hard-working box midfielder who can win the ball back but also provide help attacking. I'm always pushing the play from side to side but also getting forward occasionally and setting up plays going forward."
When Norman returns from Mexico on Aug. 18 he will go into training with the Whitecaps before starting his season. He hopes to travel with the Canadian team to another tournament in Spain later this year.
And beyond that, the sky's the limit.
"Right now I'm just really working hard and hopefully that will take me to a first team somewhere. I would really love it to be somewhere in Europe but also I'd really love playing here in Vancouver with the Whitecaps."
