Mahamoudou Kaba is AnnArbor.com's 2010 Washtenaw County Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

At age 9, Mahamoudou Kaba said goodbye to his parents, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and was excited to see snow for the first time. Since then, he has learned English, still hasn’t seen his parents, and the novelty of snow has worn off.

And the Guinea native has also developed into a great soccer player.

Kaba is AnnArbor.com’s AnnArbor.com’s 2010 Boys Soccer Player of the Year, and he’s headed to the University of South Carolina - where he hopes the weather will be more to his liking - on a soccer scholarship next fall.

An imposing physical force on the soccer field at 6-feet, 3-inches tall, Kaba uses his large frame to muscle opponents off of the ball. But he is also incredibly skilled. Opposing coaches marvel at the fine touch someone of his size has on the ball.

He was a major force that propelled Lincoln High School to its first district title in school history, scoring 10 goals with 11 assists from his center back and defensive midfield positions for the Railsplitters.

But Kaba’s influence on the team went far beyond his play on the field. As one of the more experienced players on the team, he was like a coach on the field.

“We were not that big in size and we had a lot of new players coming,” Kaba said. “I felt like I was one of the players who needed to step up as a leader and be an example.”

In a midseason game against Huron, the Railsplitters wanted to prove themselves against the area’s top team. But the bigger, more experienced River Rats were often able to take advantage of their size to control the game.

Kaba continually implored his teammates not to back down.

“Don’t let them do that to you,” he repeatedly told teammates when their opponents tried to push them off the ball.

Trailing 1-0 late in the game, Kaba ran after a ball and collided with the Huron goalkeeper. For the offense, he was red carded and sent off the field.

The red card was probably too harsh of a judgment by the referee, but Kaba didn’t argue. The only words he had to say as he came off the field were for his teammates.

“It’s OK guys, keep fighting,” he told them. “Keep playing.”

When the Lincoln bench continued to protest the call, he tried to settle things down.

“It’s OK, just let it go,” he said.

He is humble and magnanimous beyond his years, having gained unique perspective at a young age when he left his home and family in the West African country of Guinea. He came to live with an aunt to pursue an American education.

“God and my family gave me the opportunity to be here, so I don’t want to waste it,” Kaba says. “There are so many opportunities in school and out of school. Things are just so much easier.”

He still doesn’t know how his parents scraped together enough money to send him to America, but he feels a responsibility to make sure their efforts haven’t been in vain.

“My mother and father sacrificed a lot,” Kaba says. “They didn’t have much money but they managed.

“I don’t depend on anyone else but myself to improve. My aunt is here and she’s doing a great job helping me out, but I like to be independent. I want to stay on top of things because I have a lot of pressure in this country to do great things.”

Since he moved here, there has been no money to pay for a reunion with his parents, but he talks to them on the phone sometimes, and has a recording of his mother’s voice that he listens to.

But even across such a great distance, his parents and his home remain first in his thoughts.

This biggest factor in choosing South Carolina - in addition to the warm weather -- is the school’s respected criminal justice program. He hopes he can use a degree to one day make a difference in his homeland.

“I want to be really successful in school,” he says, “and hopefully go back to Africa and help my mom and help my people.”