The moment Femi Hollinger-Janzen had dreamed of had finally come: he had been drafted to play professional soccer.
After a prolific scoring career at IU, Hollinger-Janzen was ready for the next level, which happened to be Major League Soccer.
The New England Revolution drafted him in the third round with the 51st overall pick.
At the time of the selection, Hollinger-Janzen and his roommate, rising senior Richard Ballard, were watching the MLS Draft in their room.
“They announced it online,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “It wasn’t anything too official — they just posted it on the website. I saw my name pop up on the screen.”
The announcement might have been low key, but Hollinger-Janzen and Ballard didn’t take this moment lightly.
“I was ecstatic,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “Me and my roommate were yelling and jumping up and down. I was just thrilled to be selected.”
The first few weeks after being selected were nerve-wracking, Hollinger-Janzen said. He flew out to Massachusetts two days after being drafted and the Revolution started preseason camp immediately after that.
Hollinger-Janzen said it was a lot to take in at first, especially moving out East and starting training against professional players.
“After a couple of weeks, I started getting more comfortable and used to the schedule of preseason,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “During the preseason, I got a hamstring injury. That was tough for me because I wasn’t able to showcase my talent.”
Two things stuck out in Hollinger-Janzen mind as being the biggest differences between college and professional soccer. The first was the physicality of professional soccer, as he said all the players were bigger, faster and stronger.
The other difference is how he had to approach the game.
“In college, you could take a day off mentally,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “Here at this next level, you can’t do that. And if you do, you’re going to pay for it. You’re going to lose the ball or not make the pass. You’ve got to be sharp.”
Coming to the Revolution, Hollinger-Janzen was just like any rookie trying to make a name for himself in professional soccer. The rest of the team welcomed him with open arms.
“The whole team was welcoming,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “The first day I walked in the locker room, all the guys came up and introduced themselves. They were very nice teammates.
Hollinger-Janzen mentioned Charlie Davies and Teal Bunbury as teammates that took him under their wing and helped him make the transition to the MLS.
Right away, Hollinger-Janzen was getting professional minutes for the Revolution, coming in as a sub. He made his professional debut March 16 against the Philadelphia Union and has appeared in 13 games so far this season.
Even as a third-round pick, Hollinger-Janzen has found early success, which he credited to his work ethic.
“I think it’s the hard work I’ve put in during preseason,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “I was doing the little things right – getting the right amount of sleep and eating correctly. Overall, just putting in the work on the field and playing my game.”
Within the course of a few weeks, Hollinger-Janzen started in his first career game and notched his first career assist and goal.
On April 30 against Orlando, Hollinger-Janzen started for the first time and just over a week later, had an assist against the LA Galaxy on May 8. Against the Chicago Fire on May 14, he scored his first career professional goal.
“They were very exciting weeks for me,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “Getting the assist was awesome. It was nice to get my first career MLS points. A week later, the goal was more exciting. After I scored, I didn’t know what to do because I was so excited. I started running around and jumping around.”
The work has just begun for the rookie.
“Individually, I hope to continue to work hard at practice sessions and keep developing as a player,” Hollinger-Janzen said. “The technical side is something I need to continue to work on and hopefully those skills will develop as the season goes on.”
Hollinger-Janzen said he needs to continue to work on off-the-ball runs and finishing with his weaker foot, which is his left foot.
“Hopefully there are more goals and assists to come,” Hollinger-Janzen said.
