By Dustyn Green, Staff Writer
Over the last several years, St. Bonaventure University has become known for attracting some very talented athletes, most notably within their basketball programs. However, athletes from SBU are headed to the professional ranks in other sports such as baseball and soccer.
Most recently, Remi Dujardin, a 2019 graduate of St. Bonaventure, signed a contract to play soccer in Albania. This is not the first interest Dujardin has had from the professional ranks.
“After high school, I had offers to play professionally in Hong Kong. At the time, my parents supported the idea of going professionally but they still wanted me to get my college degree,” Dujardin recalled.
Luckily, it all came together for the greater good and would eventually lead to Dujardin still getting a crack at the sport he loves at one of the highest levels possible.
“An agent that specializes in helping student-athletes go to the U.S. to study and play approached me and gave me a list of schools that were interested in my athletic and academic profile,” Dujardin said.
Once he combed the list and was able to visit the campuses in the United States, Dujardin, a Hong Kong native, made up his mind and got to work.
SBU was a school on that list. After talking to Coach Kwame, I decided that SBU was the best fit for me due to the academics and the confidence coach had in me,” Dujardin said.
The 23-year-old French International School alum, who was known to go the distance when he needed to, played the full 90 minutes eight times in his final season in the Enchanted Mountains.
Dujardin picked up many philosophies from Bonnies men’s soccer head coach, Kwame Oduro. Dujardin is confident that the mentality his former teammates installed in one another at St. Bonaventure will help him tremendously in Albania.
“Playing for Bona’s, we were often not respected when playing against big schools. However, we would beat them due to our energy and attitude that we can beat anyone on our day. That mentality has definitely helped me,” Dujardin said.
Beyond the college ranks, he has been fortunate to represent the Honk Kong National Team on a number of occasions. These stints with the team have played an instrumental role in his preparedness to be a Bonnie at the next level.
“Playing at that level gave me the chance to play at tournaments where there was a lot of pressure to perform in front of big crowds. The experience you get from those games are so important in the development of a player,” the midfielder said.
Although these philosophies and experiences were stepping stones to the momentum swinging in the right direction for Dujardin, his greatest gratitude circles back to campus.
“Coach Kwame always found the right ways to push and challenge me to get better whether it was by practicing a certain skill more or by giving me more responsibility in certain situations. Bonnies soccer made me a better player but also a mentally much stronger individual,” Dujardin praised. “I definitely would not be where I am without Coach Oduro, Coach Ryan Arvin and all the staff at Bonnies soccer. When they recruited me when I was 18, they set out a plan for me to not only get my degree but also develop into a player capable of going to the next level.”
Dujardin said that despite the COVID-19 crisis not striking Albania to the extent of the United States, social distancing and safety protocols are still being taken. However, given the nature of the game, he must always play like it could be his last.
“My goal, for now, is to try to play for as long as possible at the highest level I can go to. I realize how lucky I am to be able to play my favorite sport for a living. I want to focus one day at a time because it is dangerous to think too far ahead in soccer as everything can change in a day,” he cautioned.
