When Brian Ching celebrates his 35th birthday in May, he will be almost twice the age of 18-year-old Houston Dynamo teammate and fellow striker Bryan Salazar.
But what really drove home the age discrepancy for the Haleiwa native was when the team posted a photo on Twitter recently that showed Salazar, then a preteen team ball boy, celebrating one of Ching’s 2006 goals.
“It gives me a chuckle every time I think about it,” said Ching, who opened his 13th pro soccer season and 12th in the MLS on Saturday in the transitional role of player-coach for the Dynamo.
“I get called ‘Pops’ and ‘Old man’ — you name it — a lot now,” the Kamehameha graduate said. “Anything that makes me sound old, I’ve heard. And now, they call me ‘Coach.’ Like, ‘What are we doing in practice today, Coach?’ ”
Of course, Ching says, “I give it right back to them. I tell them, ‘Watch what you say or I’ll have you traded.’ ”
Not that he needs reminders of his age or remarkable longevity in the sport, when his knees and joints already say plenty.
When it comes to surgeries, Ching has endured three on meniscus (two on the right knee, one on the left), two on his fingers, two facial and one each on an Achilles tendon and hamstring. Pending, after the season, are shoulder and knee surgeries.
“I probably have a pretty good case for workman’s comp,” Ching suggested.
His medical chart — like the franchise-record 56 goals, MLS Cup MVP title and World Cup berth — are testament to a noteworthy career built on playing all-out all the time.
The Dynamo’s home field, BBVA Compass Stadium, which opened last year, is known as “The House That Ching Built” for his role in popularizing the franchise. He is one of three original Dynamo players who arrived with the team in 2006 and was the key performer in the 2006 and ’07 MLS Cup drives.
In recognition of that, as well as his years as captain and face of the franchise, Dynamo owners offered Ching a place in their front office when his playing career is over. And, after seeing his role evolve from starter to off-the-bench spark in 2012, he was almost ready to take a desk job.
“Then, they wanted me to come back for one more year,” Ching said. But as much as that weighed into his decision, so, too, did his heart. “A month into the offseason, I still felt that competitive fire,” Ching said. “I wanted to get back out there.”
So, he will mentor up-and-coming strikers Will Bruin and Salazar and be expected to provide some late-match punch.
“He’s a leader, has always been one, and still has a role to play as a player,” said Dynamo president Chris Canetti. “He can give us some minutes later in the game and win a game with a goal; he’s still got that ability to hit a clutch goal for us. But at the same time, if we’re winning, he can help hold (onto) a lead.”
When Ching reported to the Dynamo in the preseason, he found a lounge chair with his name displayed on it in the coaches area.
Just don’t measure him for a rocking chair yet.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
