The kid still has it. He may not be the player he was back when he was winning player of the year awards. But he will always have talent in abundance. I guarantee you countless kids around the world are trying this out as you read this…

If you have stopped by this site before, or checked in at Bumpy Pitch, then you most likely know that I look at soccer as much more than a sport. You no doubt have gotten the sense that we are inspired by not only the game, but by the culture and lifestyle that it inspires as well as by the individuals that participate in the sport.

For awhile now, I have had a project in mind to explore some of the personalities that influence and drive the sport. But I’ve wanted to do it from a very visual perspective. My thought has been to take individual portraits of some of the people that I find interesting or that have a unique role or a good story and document them in an ongoing portrait project. I’ve had this idea that through a patchwork of portraits of some of these people, that we can start to put together a better visual barometer of our sport and some of the people that help influence and drive it forward. Or at the very least, I would get to share some photos of a number of different people who believe in and love the sport. Either way, it seems like a win win.

This project is story of a sport and some of the people who help shape it. It’s a look at some of the personalities that are involved. A portrait of select individuals involved with soccer. Each of these individuals has their own story to tell about their relationship with the sport and we want to showcase them and highlight their impact on the game. This project is not meant to highlight the most important people or create a list based on the hierarchy of leaders within the sport. Rather it is an opportunity to share some cool stories, take some interesting photographs and continue to give back to the game that has given us so much.

One of the first people I wrote down when I started making a list of people to include in this project was Justin Braun. For some, he may seem like an interesting choice as one of the first people to write down, but his story is one that captures everything amazing about not only our sport, but about hope and belief in general.

Most of you probably know the story of Justin. If not, I highly recommend you read this recount of his journey, in his own words. It’s a story of hope and belief in yourself, even when no one else around you seems to share those same sentiments. Maybe it’s the perfect embodiment of that same type of hope and belief that American soccer fans have about the sport.

Portrait of a Sport – Justin Braun: Hope

If you’re in the Los Angeles area and part of the Ryan Seacrest x KIIS VIP Club (or want to be), then make sure you head over to take part in the contest that we here at Bumpy Pitch are honored to take part in…..

Some of our boys have been down with us since the beginning….

Our boy Brian rocking some old school Bumpy Pitch during Selena Gomez’ interview with Ryan Seacrest at the KIIS-FM studios in Los Angeles.

Date: January 2011

Location: Home Depot Center – Carson, CA

USMNT January Camp

~beans

You just never know who’s rocking Bumpy Pitch x The Original Winger….

Argentine legend x former Columbus Crew forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto rocking our TOW logo down in Argie..

There’s something to be said about your choice of protection when you’re standing in the wall…. The double hand over the jewels, the one hand over the chest while using the other is protecting the jewels and the gutsy hands at your side.

Michael Barkman

Set Pieces

To submit your photo to be included in this series, email them to dunny [at] bumpypitch [dot] com.

Dunny put this photo up on The Original Winger today in our Soccer in America series and it just seems to work for me right now. I dig the composition and the desaturated colors. It has an incredible vintage feel about it that I find very inspiring.

Image via Eric Siniki

You don’t always need grass, dirt, street, tennis court or an artificial pitch…..

Joe Cummings x Miami Gatos

Santa Monica

December 23rd,  2010

To submit your photo to be included in this series, email them to dunny [at] bumpypitch [dot] com.