The former Haverford School standout grew up perfecting his craft at Ardmore Park, better known as the old stomping grounds of Kobe Bryant and its indoor gym affectionately known as "The Shack."

However, "The Shack" is not where White trained for hours a day by himself, but outside on its multipurpose field rarely used for more than the occasional beer league softball games and Saturday youth soccer practices.

White attributes that field and that area for turning him into one of the best soccer players in the United States. This month, White was invited into the 2008 U.S. national team player pool in preparation for its Jan. 19 match against Sweden; granting White the opportunity to earn his first cap, a notable given to a player each time they step on the field in U.S. regalia.

"I've dreamed of something like this for a long time," White said. "My dream was to always play in Europe and I was lucky enough to do so, but to be called to represent my country is every American soccer player's dream and I feel so privileged."

Privileged, yes, but one look at White's resume and it's not hard to see that he is a model candidate in America's quest to improve its soccer by way of young, homegrown talent. He has been groomed for soccer, playing for F.C. Delco, a Pennsylvania-based youth program that only invites the best of the best to participate. White starred as a member of its "Black" division and took his success straight into the college ranks. In his time as a forward at Wake Forest, White was a three-time All-ACC first-team selection and in 2003 he was the Demon Deacons' first ACC Player of the Year.

Following college, White's dream of playing in Europe became a reality after forgoing the option to enter Major League Soccer's Project 40 draft and instead playing for OFK, a team in Belgrade, Serbia. But the 25-year-old soon found OFK to be anything but a dream team and as a result bounced from squad to squad, country to country before he landing on the Dutch premier league team, AGF Aarhus.

"My first year out [of college] I picked a team in Belgrade," White said. "It was exciting because I got to play some really big teams like Manchester City [in England] and Feyenoord [of Denmark]. OFK wanted me to sign with them but they had some administrative problems. So I moved around for a while and it got harder for me to stick with it and stay passionate."

After stints in Greece, France and Serbia where playing issues or poor team selection hampered White's European vision, Aarhus was the stage where his efforts caught the eye of national team coach Bob Bradley. Bradley invited White along with friend Danny Califf - who was playing on another Dutch team - back home to join the initiative.

A true Philadelphian, even after a 4-year overseas jaunt, White couldn't deny his urge for hometown favorites and treated himself to a cheesesteak in addition to hitting up a local Wawa.

"I missed being in America, I missed my family and I missed Wendy's and Wawa," White said. "First thing I did when I got back was grab a cheesesteak and go to Wawa."

White soon ventured out to Carson, Calif., to become a part of the 26-man roster. The team is steadfastly preparing for its date with the Swedes and for White, the experience to be in camp is one that a year ago, he never envisioned.

"Going to Europe and making terrible decisions I think really made me the player and person that I am," White said. "Going through that really made me realize my passion for soccer and it forced me to stick with something and believe in my abilities."

It took a ball on a small-town field to inspire, ill-advised decisions to humble, and now for White, persistence to rank among the elite. *