More than a decade ago, on the dewy soccer fields of Kamehameha Schools, a "Hawaiian Superman" was forming.

During these 6 a.m. workouts, Brian Ching's physical size would begin to match the size of his heart and determination, helping shape what would become one of the best soccer players Hawai'i has ever produced.

Ching entered Kamehameha as a freshman, standing 5 feet 2 inches. When he graduated he was 5-9. Now, 6-1 and 195 pounds, the 28-year-old Ching has grown large enough to pave the way for Hawai'i soccer on the international scene.

"I started out trying to be one of the better players on Kamehameha, and then in Hawai'i," Ching said. "And continued that on every level I've been to."

He is the first from Hawai'i to accomplish so much: to play for the U.S. National Team, score at the elite level, get drafted by a Major League Soccer team, and most recently, be selected for a roster spot for the World Cup, an event so popular worldwide that it has been described as "March Madness times 3 billion."

"I'm just really excited. I really didn't have any expectations," Ching said. "I just go with it all. I enjoy it. We go out and kick a ball for two hours a day, and we get to travel and see the world. It's something I'm happy to be a part of."

Ching got to the sport world's biggest stage by combining a love for soccer, a mother's passion, an irrepressible competitiveness, and an almost uncanny ability to rebound from numerous injuries.

On Friday, Ching was injured in a collision with a teammate and needed 13 stitches to close a cut on the right side of his forehead, ESPN.com reported. He practiced with the team yesterday and is listed as available to play in tomorrow's game.

BABY STEPS

With a family history of being "late bloomers" according to his mother Stephanie Whalen, Ching began his high school career tinier than most.

At "5-2, 5-3, (he) probably weighed 100 pounds soaking wet right out of the shower," said Chris Nied, his former coach at Kamehameha Schools.

Still, Ching was named to the varsity as a freshman, something Nied said he rarely allowed. But Ching would develop into the 1996 Interscholastic League of Honolulu Player of the Year.

It was during his time at Kamehameha that he decided to pursue soccer wholeheartedly.

Wanting to go to college on a soccer scholarship, Ching began doing individual workouts after arriving at school at 6 a.m.

"Instead of playing cards with my buddies, I would dribble around or juggle," he said. "From then on, I continued to train on my own. I did the same thing in college. I think that deciding to put in that extra time made me the player I am."

Nied, who remains close to Ching, spoke of the player's determination: "Whether he was doing a fitness test against seniors or on the field looking at an opponent, backing down was not in his vocabulary. It's a very major component of him and it's carried him through everything he's had to face."

Still, Nied said he never in his "wildest dreams" would have selected the skinny, undersized player to be the first from Hawai'i to do so much on the national and international soccer scene.

"I took him out to dinner his senior year (at Kamehameha)," Nied said. "I told him to make sure that when he got his first pro contract, that I would be his agent. And he laughed hysterically, like I was out of my mind. He doesn't laugh at me anymore."

While at Gonzaga University from 1996 to 2000, Ching continued to dedicate himself in the weight room during time away from practice, gaining 30 pounds and growing a couple of inches.

Ching is a big body on the men's national team, with a notable ability to hold off defenders and gain position to win air balls.

But his body also has taken a beating. He had to overcome a torn Achilles tendon, strained hamstrings, fractured cheek bones and a broken nose, as well as the mental setbacks of being drafted and released.

"He's not one to easily give up," said his wife, Charisse. "He knows it's something he wants and he's going to work for it. You see it with the injuries, his desire to be there."

His success in the MLS, the U.S.' top-level professional soccer league where he is an all-star and was its top scorer in 2004, led to his selection to the national team.

He was named an MLS All-Star in 2004, and after scoring in the All-Star game, ripped off his jersey to reveal a T-shirt with "Hawaiian Superman" written on it.

MOTHER'S INFLUENCE

Part of Ching's drive comes from his mother, who pushed Ching to get into soccer.

At first, Ching resisted, saying he wouldn't get into the sport unless she coached him. She agreed, despite having no soccer experience.

Whalen raised Ching and his brothers Pat, 25, and Mike, 31. His father, Francis, moved out when Brian was young and later died.

"My mom basically raised us," Ching said. "She provided us with every opportunity. I look at her as both the mother and father figure in my life."

Ching was always ultra-competitive, his mother said.

His inability to accept less than 100 percent not only applied to himself, but others as well. Whalen remembers when his competitiveness would get the better of him — even at age 7.

"Even when he was little, he would get mad at the other players if he didn't think they were playing as hard as he was," she said. "Even at some of his best friends, at 7 or 8 years old. Sometimes at that age they get enthusiastic but don't know which way they are supposed to run. And (Brian) would get really mad. I would have to take him aside and calm him down. Tell him not to expect everybody to be like him."

Ching remembers crying after every loss and getting upset at his teammates. For the athlete who always gave it his all, he couldn't — and still can't — understand how talented athletes would give less than their best.

"I think that's my personality," he said. "I always want to be one of the best. I don't rate myself as one of the best players to come out of Hawai'i when I was younger and going to college. There are other guys who had a lot more talent on the soccer field, but I dedicated myself more than almost anybody from the Islands, and it's gotten me pretty far."

'HALE'IWA SURF RAT'

Yet at his core, Ching is more than a soccer player. He has another passion: surfing.

Ching's father, who died from lung cancer when Ching was in the ninth grade, left an indelible impression. Francis spent his summer surfing with Ching every day.

"It was great times," Ching said. "We were young kids, surfing every day and hanging out."

"He is by nature, very humble," Nied said. "Even at this point he still considers himself a surf rat from Hale'iwa, even where he sits now in the soccer world."

Even while living on the Mainland, Ching still seeks the ocean to relax. When he played for the San Jose Earthquakes, he would sometimes visit the beach at Santa Cruz just to watch the waves.

"Something about the ocean, I can sit there and hang out and stare at the surf all day," he said. "Living on the beach my whole life, it's one of those places you go. I can sit there and not think about anything and relax. I think that's probably why I'm always going to need to move back to the Islands."

Ching's love for Hawai'i also extends to the people there who helped him through the years.

A few tickets from his World Cup allotment were given to Meg Melahn, who taught him math during his junior and senior years at Kamehameha Schools.

Melahn "became one of his biggest fans because I witnessed the same strong work ethic in the classroom that I saw when I watched him on the field. He was incredibly determined and focused for someone so young."

Never satisfied with his progress and always modest, Melahn said Ching's responses to her compliments consisted of "Thanks ... I'll do better next time ... I have some things to work on."

COLLEGE SWEETHEARTS

It was during Ching's all-star and all-region stint at Gonzaga where he met his wife, Charisse.

They were students at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and began dating as sophomores. They married in December 2004.

"When he mentioned soccer as a career, I was like, 'You aren't going to become an accountant?' " Charisse said. "I don't think it was soccer, but sports in general. I didn't think of it as a typical career path. But by the time it was our senior year, I don't think I gave it a second thought."

Ching would leave notes to Charisse at her dorm room, wrapped up in athletic tape, so "even if he didn't sign his name, it was so typical of a soccer guy," she said, laughing.

Cards and letters would be accented by Ching's drawings of waves or smiley faces. Today, less-personal cell-phone calls and e-mails have taken over.

They are especially important now, when Ching is in Houston playing for the MLS team Dynamo, and Charisse is in Stockton, Calif., for the University of the Pacific's pharmacy program.

Still, they find the time to see each other, as they did last week when Ching had a few days off before leaving for Germany.

"He helps with cooking, cleaning," she said. "... he's very sweet and understanding and helpful."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.