By Richard Slate
ROCKPORT — Rockport High School students A.J. and C.J. Burnham have been easy to spot since the day they were born.
The 14-year-old freshmen boys are identical twins but they also share something else that immediately catches people's eyes: they're both outstanding soccer players. A fact evidenced by their recent naming to the U-15 Massachusetts Olympic Development Program.
"You should be very proud of this accomplishment given that there was not only a large applicant pool, but also a high level of skill among the players," said Jared Carpaci, director of ODP and Mike Singelton, head state coach, in the acceptance letter mailed to the Burnhams last week. "This team will challenge you technically, tactically, physically and mentally. Your participation at this level is a big step in your soccer career."
Getting placed on the ODP squad is a prestigious honor since it's the best of the best that Massachusetts has to offer for boys that were born in 1994. Held over four weekends in Lancaster, the Burnhams qualified out of a pool of over 150 players that tried out. There were 30 named to the team for the winter season (also in Lancaster) and then it's cut down to 18 for the spring.
Following older brother Chris's influential lead, A.J. and C.J. grew up playing soccer in the Rockport town league and more recently have played club soccer for the New England Aztecs the last four seasons. They have each stepped in and started for the Rockport varsity boys soccer team this fall, an impressive accomplishment for such young players. A.J. is the sweeper, while C.J. is an outside midfielder.
"I'm the guidance counselor at Rockport middle school/high school," said Rockport boys soccer coach Dave Curley, "I remember seeing them play in the sixth grade and youth games. They've had a huge impact right away.
"To put A.J. at sweeper, I have complete trust in him and his teammates have complete trust in him. C.J. is one of the most skilled players on the team all-around, both of them are. C.J. could play anywhere. we use him on the flank so we can isolate him and get more one-on-ones. If he was bunched up in the middle of the field, it would be more difficult to do his thing."
To a seasoned soccer player, club soccer and high school soccer are two very different animals. Not to mention the fact that in club you're playing against teams filled with kids your age, whereas in high school you could be facing 17 and 18-year olds when you're 14 like the Burnhams.
"In club if it's on the ground you settle it and trap it," noted A.J.
"Here it's more physical." C.J added "It's faster play at high school than club and ODP and it's much more intense."
Coach Curley only had one minor worry for the twins before their freshman season began.
"The only concern that I ever had was the physicality of the game but they're very comfortable with it," Curley said. "They're big kids: over 5-foot-11, 160 pounds. They're only going to get bigger and stronger. Physically they can handle it, from a mental perspective it doesn't throw them off their game. They're students of the game."
That innate competitive nature that has made the Burnhams such forces on the soccer field also apparently carries over to the classroom setting.
"They're student-athletes, they take honors-level courses," Curley says. "They study hard. They don't like to lose in the classroom or on the field. They enjoy playing the game, they're always out here early before practice, playing on their own on weekends. The ball has been an appendage for the three years that I've known them. Two arms, two legs and a soccer ball."
The Burnhams were pleasantly surprised to find their new teammates at Rockport High figured out which twin was which early on in the preseason, a common problem that plagues teachers and classmates when dealing with identical twins of the same gender.
"During preseason, before everyone got to know us they mixed us up," remembered A.J. "but the guys on the team have gotten it down solid now."
C.J. also pointed out another difference between him and his brother.
"He's a lot better at defense than I am, other than that it's hard to compare us as players," he said.
Finally, Curley pointed out the main thing that sticks out in the Burnhams' arsenal.
"What separates them is the calmness in which they do everything. They have confidence in their ability and as a result, they don't hurry it. ODP makes them better players and they make us a better team."
