Bascome Heats it Up By Lisa Hummel In the 10 years that the Harrisburg Heat have been playing soccer in the area

Bascome Heats it Up

By Lisa Hummel

In the 10 years that the Harrisburg Heat have been playing soccer in the area, more than a million people have come through the Farm Show Complex doors to see the on-field action. And it’s a pretty safe bet to say that a large majority of those fans have, one more than one occasion, jumped out of their seats cheering for midfield forward and all-time leading scorer David Bascome.

Bascome came to the Heat during their first year of operation and, beyond a small detour in Denver during his second season in the National Professional Soccer League, he has become a constant for the club, spending the last nine years with the team. With the regular season nearing a close and the Heat in a battle for first place of the American Conference, Bascome took a quick break from practice to share his thoughts on the Heat, the area, and what it’s like to have a job where you get paid to play the game you love.

Born in Bermuda, Bascome is one of just five natives who have made a career playing professional soccer — and he is the pride of his country every Sunday morning when the Heat games are aired on television. Comprised of just 24 square miles and some 60,000 people, Bermuda is still the home of his father and brother and is where Bascome returns every year for a period of six to seven weeks to engage in community activities and to help raise money for the sunshine leagues that gave him his start as a seven-year-old.

And while the move from Bermuda certainly wasn’t an easy one, Bascome saw it as a necessary one, and he’s never looked back. “If I wasn’t playing, realistically, I’d be in Bermuda and — I want to be honest about it — because I didn’t finish my college education, I’d probably be doing a trade or getting myself in trouble,” he said. “I think I’d still have a drive for the game, but Bermuda can only take you so far.”

“It’s very tough to determine, but I can tell you that playing soccer has brought a great deal to my life and it’s helped me a lot,” continued Bascome. “I have no educational background, but I do have common sense and I do have the understanding that if you want something in life, you’ve got to strive for it, you’ve got to push for it.”

And while the Heat find themselves perched near the top of the league this season, that drive was more than a vital asset last year, when the club struggled, ending the season with a meager 16-28 — the worst record in team history. Eager for history to not repeat itself, the Heat made some additions to the roster and, according to Bascome, welcomed this season with a new intensity. “The team, the players, have developed a lot of character and it’s helped us a lot,” he said. “I think a lot of the players have put a lot of things aside because it’s a beautiful game and there are a lot of other things we could be doing — and I think that sunk in after the record we had last year.”

As for this year, the play-offs start in April and Bascome knows that the Heat still have the toughest part of their season ahead of them. “[Play-offs] are very tough, it’s definitely a different league,” he said. “It’s all or nothing. Basically if you lose you’re out and to go through a 40-game season and all the hard work that you put in, and then to think that in two games you could be out is very tough. It’s going to be a long road, but I think we have a great chance of pulling it off.”

A lot has changed in the near decade that David Bascome has been wearing the Heat uniform: he’s 10 years older than he was when he joined the league, he’s gone from being a fresh-faced rookie to a respected veteran, and he knows that life beyond soccer exists, as is proven by the professional soccer school that he has founded. But by no means is Bascome ready to hang up his cleats. “As long as I enjoy it, I want to keep playing. Really, no player likes to put age or time on things, especially if you have a passion, but I can tell you that when it’s time to retire it’s going to be one of the toughest days of my life,” he said. “Right now, I’m like a little kid out there because I know that there’s going to come that time when it’s going to be over, so I have to enjoy every moment of it.”

And when that time comes, Bascome promises he won’t stray too far from the Capital City. “This is my home, it’s a beautiful area and a great community,” he said. “I bought a house in Harrisburg, I love the people. I love the whole environment. And the guys on the team kind of chuckle, they say, ‘hey, you’re from Bermuda…’ But this is it. This is it for me. And anything can happen, but even if I were to end up playing in another city, this would be my home.”

In his lifetime, David Bascome has been no stranger to change. He’s packed up and moved to a foreign country, he’s adapted to a new life — and cold winter weather — in Pennsylvania, and he’s helped his team ride a roller coaster of success in the past decade. And he couldn’t be any happier.

“It’s been an experience for me over the years,” said Bascome. “Watching the Heat staff come through, watching so many players come through — but the one thing that hasn’t changed with the Heat is that they have a lot of respect for the players and they have developed a professionalism that is always going to stay with the team … they know how to take care of their players … and sometimes it’s those little things, this is a small city, it’s not the biggest franchise in the league, but it’s one with the biggest heart.”