FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Charlie Davies is a man on a mission.
Not satisfied by last year’s team-leading output of 10 goals and four assists, he used the New England Revolution’s extended offseason as an opportunity to continue bettering himself.
Davies always wants to better himself.
“I was working the week after the season ended,” he said on Saturday morning when the Revs finally reconvened after an 87-day offseason. “It was just more time to get better and work on myself personally.”
As a baseline, Davies aims to improve every day. Each sprint should be quicker, each cut more explosive, each pass more accurate and each shot more powerful.
Those objectives are individual, but the end goals are never about Davies. He’s driven to succeed for those around him, whether that be his New England Revolution teammates, his wife Nina, or the twin boys the couple is expecting in June.
“There are a lot of things fueling me, as always,” Davies said. “Mostly now it’s my twin boys that will be coming in the summer of 2016, and helping this team win an MLS Cup.
“That’s the ultimate goal, and for me personally to just continue to take the next step. I’ve just got to continue to push myself, continue to be consistent and continue to get better.”
There is hope that the next step for Davies will be, in a sense, a return to his past.
Davies’ 10 goals were fifth-most amongst Americans in Major League Soccer last year, leading to speculation that he might be in line for a return to the U.S. National Team. He hasn’t suited up for the Stars and Stripes since October 2009, just days before his life-changing automobile accident.
That call didn’t come for the USMNT camp currently ongoing in southern California, but Davies believes he’ll eventually get his shot provided he continues to put in the work and improve every day.
“I would be lying if I said it’s something that doesn’t fuel me,” Davies said of a USMNT return. “Every camp that comes out you’re looking at the e-mails, hoping to get that one e-mail.
“But as I’ve done in the past couple years, it’s just continuing to get better and continuing to build off each season. I think this year is the year where I take that next step and hopefully get my chance. That’s all you can really hope for and ask for is a chance.
“I think this will be my year.”
