Jeff Beljour and Rosmith Messieur have quite the appetite for the soccer fields.
The Allen Community College men’s soccer players from Turks and Caicos will return to their home country this year to play for the Turks national team.
Beljour arrived at Allen in the fall but redshirted his freshman season in order to start two years for the Red Devils. He plays for the Turks national team as well as the Turks and Caicos men’s national beach soccer team.
The offensive wing will take on teams from El Salvador, Bahamas and Mexico as a part of the national beach soccer team in early February.
“I play left wing because I feel like I can cut in on my strong foot, my right foot and I can bend or curve the ball,” said Beljour. “I have more skills on my right but I’ll also trick them because I will go on my left side. People are always assuming that I’m going to go to the right.”
Messieur arrived at Allen for the first time a week ago and plays for the Turks and Caicos field soccer men’s national team as Beljour’s teammate. The pair will return together to their home country in late March to kick off in games at home as well as in other countries.
It will be Messieur’s first cap, meaning his first game playing as a part of the national team. He also plays the wing position on offense.
THEIR journeys to Iola followed similar paths. Both were referred through friends before being recruited by Allen’s assistant men’s coach, Gefte Blanc.
“I was in Puerto Rico and my friend sent a link of me playing to Gefte to see what he thought. Gefte was interested so I got a scholarship and I’m here now,” said Beljour. “In Turks, we don’t have that much opportunity, it’s mainly in track and basketball.”
Messieur discussed his process as well.
“I had a friend come here and he suggested me to coach Gefte,” he explained. “I talked to him (Blanc), sent him a few videos and last week he went to Turks for a soccer camp and saw me playing. Once he saw me, he really wanted me to come up here.”
Both Beljour and Messieur have also played academy soccer together in Turks and Caicos since around 2012.
“It’s not that much different but college is better for us than staying in Turks and playing for the national team. You can come here, play for Allen, you don’t know who’s watching when you’re doing good,” said Messieur. “Here, you’re getting an education and playing soccer as well.”
Since both Beljour and Messieur have practiced and played with the national team for a number of years, they will know what to expect when they go back home in March.
The Turks team has a new coach; both players are hopeful. 
Their spots on the national team aren’t guaranteed but both are confident in their abilities.
“Me and Rosmith are different because the coach knows we are coming from college so he’ll know we’ve been training,” said Beljour. “The only thing that may stop us is if it’s not what he expected, he’ll be like ‘I don’t want him,’ but I have confidence in myself.”
