By Jeff Moeller, freelance correspondent

For Richmond Hill’s Justin Okoro, soccer has been a family affair, and he has made the most of his opportunities while growing up.

Okoro’s older brothers, Jerry and Sammy, both influenced his soccer career. His brother Jerry now plays for the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, and his oldest brother, Sammy, now plays in Germany. 

“I started playing at the age of five,” said Okoro. “Since I was a kid, the game has always been easy for me. I never really had any problems.”

Right now, Okoro has been one of the Wildcats’ many scorers this season with four goals and six assists. He is making the most of his lone full season with the Wildcats, who are 7-3 through their first 10 games and atop the region with a 5-1 mark. 

Okoro did begin playing in his freshman year, but he took an offer to play for Tormenta MLS Next - one of the top youth soccer programs in North America. Over the past two years, Okoro continued to play for MLS Next, and wasn’t allowed to play high school soccer. 

Okoro still plays for them, but his club level has been demoted, allowing him to play high school soccer again.

Even though he has had a rather stellar career, Okoro had a major setback when he injured his ankle last November playing club soccer and was sidelined through February.

“That was the biggest thing I had to overcome,” said Okoro. “It was a grade three sprain on my left ankle, which took all my confidence. But I kept battling and I overcame it. I got back to normal soon.”

On the other side of it, Okoro also had a memorable moment in 2021.

“My favorite game was when I played for Coastal Empire and we had a tournament in Florida,” said Okoro. “In the first game of the tournament we’re losing three to zero, and I was very upset after the third goal.

“When we kicked off the ball again, I dribbled through all eleven players including the keeper and scored.”

Okoro sees himself as a leader who can influence his teammates. He is looking forward to playing in front of college coaches at the MLS Next Fest in California soon. He also has entertained the thought of playing in Europe. 

Head coach Stephen Henderson is confident Okoro can be a force down the stretch.

“He is playing as a striker for us and doing a great job,” said Henderson. “He is strong, fast, a dangerous dribbler, and a tricky passer.

“Justin is among our leading scorers, and we have goals and assists coming from everyone in the front five. They work seamlessly and selflessly together. We are grinding our way to better. It’s about being one percent better every day.”

Okoro also likes his team’s chances.

“Yes, I do feel that we are now starting to get better,” said Okoro. “In the beginning, we did have a lot of good players. We weren't able to play that world together. Now, I feel like we’re starting to utilize all of our skills to the best ability.”