This week’s edition of Pio Personality highlights senior midfielder Kenny Akamatsu. Kenny began his life in Niigata, Japan and moved as a young child to Tokyo where he lived until moving to DU. His love for soccer was due to his older brother, who was already playing soccer, and the enjoyment Kenny had with the ball at his feet.

Kenny chose the University of Denver to continue his soccer career due to the recruitment of current head coach Jamie Franks. Kenny stated, “[Jamie] told me about DU’s great academics and athletic department. I like Jamie a lot.” He has had many memories in soccer but his favorite memory in soccer is when he was called to the U-16 Japan National Team camp. “They put me at left-back which I had never played before in my soccer life,” he chuckled.

At the University of Denver, Kenny is majoring in Communications and is minoring in Asian Studies. His favorite class that he has taken during his time at DU was Stereotyping and Violence.

On a normal day for Kenny, he will have soccer practice in the morning until around the middle of the day. After practice, he heads off to his classes and studies in the library. “It’s a simple life,” said Kenny. When relaxing after classes and studying, you will find him watching his favorite TV show, Prison Break, or his favorite movie, The Blind Side. When Kenny is looking for something to fuel up, You will see him at Wow Café, his favorite restaurant on campus, or at Poké City with fellow senior and teammate, Andre Shinyashiki.

On a game day, Kenny will relax at home with a cup of his favorite tea or coffee and listen to music before every game. He listens to hip-hop or preset playlists on Spotify or Apple music to get him fully focused before he steps onto the pitch.

When asked about where he wants to be in 5 years, Kenny stated, “I would like to stay in Colorado or go to California, especially San Francisco. I liked it a lot when we went the Stanford University.”

Kenny is also a big fan of the English Premier League in England, where he especially enjoys watching Chelsea and Tottenham. His favorite players are Ronaldinho and Eden Hazard. Kenny’s advice for the next generation of soccer is that “Soccer is definitely changing and what I learned from this program is to work hard and that is crucial for the next generation.”

Looking back on his DU experience, Kenny said this when asked how DU had impacted him. He said, “I have changed a lot, not only on as a person but as a teammate and friend.” His favorite memory at DU has “Definitely [been] being apart of soccer and being apart of this program. Over the summer we stay with seniors in their houses and sleep on couches or the floor. Also, doing fitness with the strength and conditioning team.”

In closing, the legacy Kenny feels that he has left at DU is through the men’s soccer program. “It was with these guys as they are more than friends, they are like family to me.” Kenny certainly left a mark on this program through his four years tallying 3,305 minutes and scoring 25 career points, with 6 goals and 13 assists. When you watch Kenny play on the pitch, you not only see his skill with the ball at his feet, you witness his radiant smile that shows you the attitude in which he enters each and every lift, practice, or match.