365: You’ve had a great stretch of games, but you spent most of the season before this on the bench. What were the events that led to you breaking into the lineup?
Josmer Altidore: Practice and reserve games. I tried to prove myself in reserve games against opponents. I tried to perform well so I could catch the eye of the coach.

365: So did you get an idea from Coach (Bruce) Arena that you were starting to get noticed?
JA: Yeah. It was funny because we had a conversation, me and Bruce. I walked in one day and he was like ‘yo Jozy, your sixteen’ and I was like ‘yeah, I came here off the national team program.’ I think that’s probably the first time that he knew I came from there. I’m not sure, but I think it is. He told me that he was going to try to get me into the rotation, get me going young, so I could get used to the environment.

365: So you end up playing and the game where you started to get some notice is when you scored your first goal. It ended up being the Sierra Mist goal of the week, and it’s the kind of goal people love to watch on the MLS website. Can you describe the goal for us?
JA: It was a tough game. You gotta get three points so the urgency is there. The ball was switched, I just checked back for it. There was a lot of space in the end zone because Columbus had gotten two red cards. I got the ball and turned, took about three touches and just let it rip.

365: Yeah, but from how far out?
JA: I think like thirty (yards)?

365: Yeah, it was far enough that the ball was in the air long enough for some thoughts to go through your mind. What were you thinking about as the ball was headed to the net?
JA: I was like, ‘whooo, it has a chance, it has a chance!’ Then it went in and I was like, ‘Wow! I can’t believe I just did that!.’ It took the roar of the crowd to make me realize what I just did. It was amazing.

365: It was a great moment. When you are a rookie, let alone a sixteen year old rookie, I’m sure you’re excited to get the chance to play, but nothing more could have been expected of you so far in your career. Did you think you would make this big an impact?
JA: Honestly. No. I always thought to myself, if I train really hard I might be able to help this team. But the impact I’m making now is far from what I believed I would be able to do. But, I’m happy I’m doing it, and I’ll try to keep it going.

365: How about Bruce Arena? How has he been with the team and to get along with?

For the complete Altidore interview visit Soccer365