Rhinos 1 v 1-Neal Kitson
By: Thad Brown
Updated: June 15, 2010
Goalkeeper Neal Kitson is the son of a English father and an Indian mother. His family came to America just a few months before he was born.
"My mother's family actually moved to America and she wanted to be with her family so at that time," Kitson said. "It was the American dream coming over here."
He grew up in Queens, graduated from St. John's and despite the preponderance of bigtime American sports, Kitson says New York City is big on soccer as well.
"There's a bunch of places that open, like bars that open at 6:30, 7:00 in the morning to watch these games," Kitson said. "Soccer's actually taken off."
Kitson played through pain his senior year at St. John's and took the Red Storm to the 2008 National Semifinals. However, the following winter, he was diagnosed with a sports hernia, a fractured pelvis and a torn labrum in his hip. As you can imagine, it's not something you just walk off.
"I couldn't run, couldn't workout, couldn't do anything for 8 months," Kitson said. "It took me three months to get back to running and playing and I just only started getting back to where I was remotely cloose to at St. John's."
While Kitson's body recovers, his mind is getting a workout thanks to teammate Scott Vallow.
"He's been in the league for such a long time, such an experience," Kitson said. "I'm only 24 so, learning from him is only going to make me better."
