Two young soccer players stand at midfield set to kick off another match. One has his foot resting on the ball and the other stretches out while they await the sound of the referee’s whistle. Fast forward a little more than a decade. One of the young boys is now a senior co-captain of the Georgetown University soccer team, while the other is a member of the U.S. National Team and plays for Reading FC of the English Premier League, one of the top soccer leagues in the world. Those two young boys are much more than teammates, though. They are brothers.
Hoya defender Tim Convey was born into a family made for sports. One sport in particular, though, stood out above the rest.
“We tried tee-ball,” Tim remembered. “We didn’t like tee-ball very much, so we started playing soccer.”
Both of his parents were athletes. His father played basketball at St. Francis University, and has been inducted into the Philadelphia High School Hall of Fame. His mother played field hockey in high school. Their three children Kelly, Bobby and Tim all became soccer stars.
Tim and his older brother Bobby grew up playing soccer together. The younger Convey played above his age group when he was about eight years old at Penn Academy in Philadelphia so he could share the pitch with the elder.
“Growing up with Timmy was great,” Bobby said via email. “He was my best friend and my playmate.”
When Tim was about 10 years old he joined the Parkwood Heat and began to play with other boys his own age while Bobby played for a different team in nearby Torresdale. Both teams later combined to form FC Copa, which provided various age levels of competitive club soccer and was ranked third in the nation for a couple years.
“He [Bobby] was on the older FC Copa and I was on the younger FC Copa,” Tim said of his early playing days with his brother. “His team was the very first team and mine was the second team, and we were basically all the little brothers of the older guys.”
When Bobby was 15 years old, he left FC Copa to enter Bradenton Academy in Florida, the residency program for the U-17 National Team. Bobby was part of the initial class that included future U.S. National Team stars Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Oguchi Onyewu. At the same time, Tim began making a name for himself as he traveled internationally with different state and regional teams.
Both Convey boys had to learn the ins and outs of the game from someone, however, and that someone was their older sister Kelly. Their father coached them throughout much of their childhood, but had no real background in the game, often trying to transfer his basketball knowledge to the pitch.
“My sister was really amazing at soccer,” Convey said. “She could have been the best out of all three of us, which is a big statement obviously with my brother.”
After dominating the Philadelphia high school soccer scene, Kelly went on to play Penn State, where the entire Convey clan went to every single game. But Tim remembers very little of the actual games, as he was preoccupied with playing soccer with his brother somewhere else while his parents cheered on their daughter.
Kelly went on to become the first Nittany Lion NSCAA All-American in women’s soccer in 1998, her junior year. She is now enshrined in the Penn State Athletic Hall of Fame, as she is in the top-10 in career goals, assists and points. She also paved the way for Bobby’s entrance on the national team, as she trained with the women’s squad in 2000. After being offered a contract from a variety of teams in the now-defunct Women’s United Soccer Association, the eldest Convey decided to go a different route and start her own family, which left Bobby to go on to have the best soccer career in the family.
The date of February 6, 2000, marks an important day not only for the Convey family but also in Major League Soccer history. On this day, D.C. United selected Bobby with the 12th pick of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. At age 16, he was the youngest player ever drafted in MLS history. This accomplishment would be topped the following year by a younger 16-year-old Santino Quaranta, and then by 14-year-old Freddy Adu in 2004.
“There was a debate on whether he [Bobby] should go to college or go pro,” Tim said. “My dad, mom and him decided that if he needed to, he could go back to school later. At the time they thought he could make it, and obviously they were right.”
“We just looked at the talent that Bobby had,” D.C. United President and CEO Kevin Payne said. “We were surprised where we were at in the draft that he slipped to us. He displayed a great deal of promise though, and we recognized that.”
Bobby made an immediate impact on D.C. United as he played in 22 games (18 starts) in his rookie season, making his debut in United’s April 25th home opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
“No one expected him to get in the game,” Tim remembered. “I remember seeing him at the 50-yard line with the fourth official ready to go in, jumping up and down getting ready to go. We were going crazy in the family box. That was a really good moment for my family.”
Bobby went on to play for D.C. United for at least part of five seasons. In 2004, Bobby played only 10 games with United before moving on to play in Europe. On July 22, 2004, he signed with Reading FC, which at the time was part of English Football League Championship, the second-highest level of the English football system.
“Bobby was a talented young player, and he learned a lot when he played with us. Bobby believed it was time for him to leave, and it worked out well for him,” Payne said of Bobby’s time with D.C. United and signing with Reading.
As Bobby left the District for England, Tim had just arrived in D.C. The year before Bobby signed with Reading was Tim’s freshman year at Georgetown. His decision to become a Hoya was not an easy one, as he had offers to play with Penn State, the University of Maryland and other colleges. In the end, he chose Georgetown for the combination of soccer and academics.
Like Bobby with D.C. United, Tim has been a key part of Georgetown’s soccer team ever since arriving. In his first three seasons, Tim played in a total of 56 games, starting in 55 of them. He also tallied one goal and five assists in those three years. He was named to the All-D.C. College Cup team as a sophomore and a junior. Last year’s Team Defensive MVP Award went to Tim, an impressive feat on a defense that featured senior Jeff Curtin, who was drafted by the Chicago Fire in the second round (14th overall) of the 2006 SuperDraft.
“I’ve played with him now for three years, and ever since he’s been on campus, he’s been confident, which is very important for the younger guys to see,” Tim’s fellow senior co-captain Ricky Schramm said. “He normally leads by example, and that’s just the kind of player he is.”
This season Tim looks to lead the defense as a co-captain of the Hoya squad. So far he has played in seven of Georgetown’s eight games, only missing this past Sunday’s game due to injury. He has one assist this season, coming on senior midfielder Daniel Grasso’s goal in Georgetown’s 2-1 loss on Aug. 27th to American University in the D.C. College Cup final.
“Being a leader, everyone on the team feels comfortable coming to talk to him about anything,” Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese said of his co-captain. “He’s a very approachable captain but also at the same time demands high standards of himself and everyone else.”
While Tim has been playing at Georgetown, Bobby and Reading have moved up the ranks in England. After a lackluster first season with Reading, Bobby burst out for seven goals in 45 appearances in the 2005-’06 season. He won “Man of the Match” honors numerous times. The award includes two bottles of champagne, which Bobby ended up giving to his mother because he doesn’t drink.
“My mom drank those,” Tim said. “She obviously saved a couple of them.”
That season Reading also won the Football League championship with a League record of 106 points, earning a promotion to the English Premier League this season for the first time in club history. So far, Bobby has two assists in five games as the Royals are 3-2 in Premiership competition and sit in sixth place with nine points in the league table.
This past summer, Bobby was called upon to play for the U.S. National Team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He then became the first Reading player to play in the World Cup.
“It was a great feeling to step out on the field at 23 and start for the U.S. team in the World Cup,” Bobby said. “It is something I have dreamed of doing when I started playing soccer, and it is something no one can take away from me.”
Although the U.S. side failed to advance past group play, Tim remembers who created the U.S.’s only goal in its 1-1 draw with eventual champion Italy.
“Our goal that we scored against Italy, it was an own goal, but he [Bobby] was the one that kicked it,” Tim pointed out.
With his sister living in Texas and his brother playing across the Atlantic, one might expect the Conveys to have difficulties staying in touch. This may be partially true, but soccer has created a bond within the family that can’t be broken. Tim, Bobby, Kelly and their parents get to see each other and communicate often through web-cams.
“To see my brother, I go on the webcam with him,” Tim said. “My mom, my dad and my sister can all see each other through that.”
“My family has always been very close-knit,” Bobby added. “I know my family will always be there for me, and any way we can help make each others’ lives better. We do it.”
Tim and Bobby get to see each other in person only about once a month. During the off-season, they see each other more when Bobby comes home. Tim also travels to Europe whenever he can.
The Convey family has even been brought together by soccer. Tim watched this summer’s World Cup against the Czech Republic with several family members at home. They had some extra guests at his home also as Philadelphia news stations came to tape them watching Bobby play.
“It was kind of awkward,” Tim recalled. “They had a big light by the TV, so you couldn’t even see the TV.”
Tim has been able to bypass the reporters and actually witness first-hand some of his older brother’s biggest games including some with Reading. Tim also traveled to Germany for part of the World Cup. He was in the stadium for the U.S.’s 1-1 draw with Italy.
Not knowing what sections their two tickets were in, Tim and a friend each took one and split up. While his friend ended up in the U.S. family section, Tim found himself surrounded by Italian fans who were not happy to have him watching alongside. Despite the rough environment, Tim reveled in the experience.
“The Italy game was one of the best soccer experiences I have ever had, and I wasn’t even playing,” Tim said. “I saw my brother run out on to the field, and I honestly have never felt better with soccer in my life than that moment.”
With the rest of his senior season yet to be played, Tim has his own future opening before him. What that future will entail is unknown. He would like to at least try playing soccer professionally. He might also continue his education and go to law school, preparing for life away from soccer like his sister.
“My brother wants me to get an education and be ready, just in case I don’t make it, to be a successful businessman or maybe even go to law school,” Tim said.
“I advised [Tim] to go to law school because it is more beneficial for his long term future,” Bobby explained. “Soccer is just a game, but life lasts a long time after you can play soccer. Unless you are going to make a very good salary turning pro, it is a waste of time. You can love soccer, but he needs to realize his long term future is more important than struggling just to play soccer.”
Tim no doubt will receive valuable advice with the supportive family he has, but just as a 16-year-old Bobby made the decision to enter Major League Soccer, the final decision lies with Tim. No matter what he chooses his future to be, it’s hard to believe that soccer won’t at least be a part of it for a Convey.
