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It’s Defense the Sockers Can Bank On

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

David Banks, the victim of budget cutting by a club in England, has been subjected to the irony of landing in the Major Soccer League--the undisputed king of sports when it comes to paring player payrolls.

But then maybe his path to the MSL was appropriate, since Banks himself seems a blend of contradictions:

* He is a rookie, yet, as Socker Coach Ron Newman says, “He looks like he has played at least two years.”

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* Banks possesses quick foot skills and shows good agility, yet he is becoming known for his physical play.

* He turned down a chance to return to England, instead deciding to stick around for the MSL draft.

Not only did Banks stick around, but he stuck with the Sockers and has since earned a regular shift.

Banks, 23, is the first Socker draft pick to play regularly in his rookie season since Kevin Crow in 1983-84.

And he has won an admirer in Crow.

“The great thing about Dave,” Crow said, “is that he gets better every game. He hasn’t plateaued yet, and I think he will do even more for the team next year.”

Banks has a good mentor. Crow generally is regarded as the league’s top defender although he never compiles an impressive number of blocked shots. Crow uses a more aggressive style of tight marking and going after the steal, aborting an opponent’s attack before a shot is unleashed.

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But with Crow talking about retirement, it is a style that could become extinct in a league suffering from a talent shortage. Banks appears ready to grab the baton and run.

So far, Banks has 33 blocks. Although that’s second on the team to Crow’s 90, he is not even close to Cleveland’s Bernie James, the league leader with 110, and far behind other first-year defenders such as Cleveland’s Marco Rizi (55), Wichita’s Steve Pittman (47) and Wichita’s Vincent Beck (47).

Why is Banks a favorite for rookie of the year? His composure, not his statistics, have been cited by coaches, teammates and opponents.

That composure showed last summer in Baltimore, where Banks took part in the MSL’s college showcase game the night before the Sockers drafted him. It was Newman’s first glimpse of him.

“We were fortunate in that we were looking for defenders and he was the best one on the field,” Newman said. “I thought he selected early passes well. He could see (opportunities for) the longer ball and seemed to pick the right players to pass it to. When he did, those passes were very accurate.”

In other words, Banks’ skills were further along than those of his peers. Of course, his peers didn’t grow up in England’s developmental system.

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At 12, Banks was playing “schoolboy” soccer with 14- and 15-year-olds. He made the youth team in his hometown of Wigan when he was 15, playing midfield with 16- and 17-year-olds. By the time he was 17, he played with professionals on Wigan’s reserve team.

Banks credits his quick ascension to the demands of his father.

“My father always made me play with guys older than me,” Banks said. “I think that helped give me confidence. You have to be more aware of other players around you when you know they’re better than you . . . you have to try to overcome that. And that’s why I think I have adapted (quickly) over here.”

Banks’ father, John, talking by telephone from England, said there was really no choice but to move his son up with the older boys. Banks was already the best player in Wigan at his age.

“To get competition,” John Banks said, “he needed a better quality player, so he had to go out of his age group.”

Newman agrees with that approach and uses Banks’ experience to illustrate the failing of the American youth soccer apparatus.

“If you get into that scenario of playing against older boys, it’s great for any player,” Newman said. “I get so infuriated when I hear someone over here say, ‘He’s playing on the under-14 team,’ or ‘He’s playing on the under-16 team.’ When I hear that, I know they’re not being taught properly.

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“If American soccer players are going to improve, they have to play against better players. The best way to do that is to have them play against older players. When I was 18, I was playing against experienced professionals and it helped me tremendously.”

There was just one drawback. Banks, much smaller than his opponents, was an easy target.

“It’s not like it is over here,” Banks said, “where the big guys go easy on the little guys. Over there, the older players wouldn’t hesitate to wind up and kick the little guys in the shin.”

John Banks said his son had to be careful in the skills he displayed.

“I always told him he should never be too cheeky on the pitch,” the elder Banks said. “David would probably beat a guy once, and he could use the same move twice, but the third time he had to be careful because that older guy wasn’t going to let him get by no matter what tactics he had to resort to.”

Now Banks, though a rookie, is turning the tables. He is defending against veteran forwards and, like his opponents of old, he doesn’t hesitate get in the way of the MSL’s venerable goal scorers.

Just don’t call him an enforcer .

“I don’t consider myself a ‘tough guy,’ ” he said. “I’m just a hard player. That’s the way I play. If someone’s delivering cheap shots, I’m going to give them back. I give what I take.”

But Banks isn’t afraid to deliver that first shot. In fact, he relishes the chance.

“The first tackle is always the most important,” he said. “I have to let (opponents) know that I’m always going to be there, that they’re not going to be able to just turn around and get a goal. That’s something they teach you in England.”

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Banks wouldn’t have brought his knowledge to the MSL if it weren’t for a lull that regularly hits British soccer between World Cups.

With attendance on the wane during the 1985 season, clubs were forced to make financial cuts.

“I was an apprentice at the time,” Banks said. “One step away from being a professional football player. That year, Wigan had just won a promotion from Division II to Division I, but, a couple weeks before the end of the season, the manager called 10 of us into his office one by one.

“I remember it clear as day. We were in the changing room and the guys would come walking in. We would ask what happened and they’d say, ‘My God, I’m gone.’ ”

Banks was among the last to be called in.

“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “When I got home, my mother (Jean) left me alone in the front room. Later, my father walked in and I said, ‘I’ve been released.’ He couldn’t believe it. I think it hurt him more than it hurt me. It was his dream to see his son play for his hometown team.”

Banks bounced around trying to catch on elsewhere. Eventually he caught the attention of Nottingham Forest, which offered a six-month contract.

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“But it wasn’t the contract David wanted,” John said. “And he had another choice.”

A scout for Philadelphia Textile college walked up to Banks and said, “Son, what do you think of four years in the United States, an American education and a chance to play soccer, all expenses paid?’ ”

Banks, then 17, decided to go with the long-term investment.

Four years later, Banks faced a similar choice. A Scottish team, Celtic, beckoned, but he accepted an invitation to attend the MSL’s showcase game for draft hopefuls.

Banks thinks he made the right choice, but he still hears of opportunities back home. His father calls occasionally with updates on who has been released and what teams have openings.

“I always say no,” Banks said. “I don’t think he understands . . . I’m too old now.”

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