Barrington's Ryan and Davis Johnson love sports. To be more specific, Ryan loves soccer, while his brother Davis loves baseball.

The Johnson brothers have also built reputations for performing quite well in the sports they love — 15-year-old Ryan was recently selected for the 2017 Generation Adidas Real Madrid Select program, while Davis was selected to represent Rhode Island in the U13 age group at this year’s Baseball Power Showcase to be held in Miami, Fla. in December.

Both Johnson brothers attend Moses Brown School in Providence, but grew up participating in Barrington youth sports leagues.

Ryan Johnson

Ryan started playing soccer in Barrington when he was 6-years-old. He tried other sports — lacrosse and basketball — but was always more interested in soccer. He played in the town's house and travel leagues through the seventh grade when he joined Bruno United FC. 

When he was 13, Ryan was invited to play on a U16 team out of Kansas City, which was part of the Challenger organization, that traveled to Europe to compete and train. He enjoys soccer so much, that at one point, he was playing soccer for two travel teams at the same time. 

During his eighth grade year he was invited to participate in the New England Revolution Youth Academy Training program, and this past fall, during his freshman year at Moses Brown School, he made the varsity team for the Quakers. 

Earning a spot in the 2017 Generation Adidas Real Madrid Select program will place Ryan with 31 other talented soccer players from the country. 

BT — Ryan, what does it mean to you to be selected for the Generation Adidas program?

RJ — "To be selected for something like the Generation Adidas program is definitely exciting. It’s always been my goal to play soccer at a high level and, of course, a lot of training came with that. To have that pay off in this way was a great feeling."

BT — How did your early days playing sports in Barrington help form who you have become as an athlete?

RJ — "Playing soccer in Barrington was where it all started for me. It was where I joined my first travel team and have loved the game ever since. To be able to experience all different aspects of the sport growing up definitely helped me grow as a player and helped me to progress even further with soccer. The Barrington soccer programs that I participated in at a young age developed a strong base for me and I look to build off of that as I move along in my soccer career."

BT — Did you have certain coaches or experiences that drove you to perform at a higher level?

RJ — "I don’t think I can single out one coach because I’ve been fortunate to train and play for quality coaches both during my years playing for the Barrington travel teams as well as my years with Bruno United FC. I’ve had a lot of experiences that have driven me to play harder and at a higher level…"

BT — What are your ultimate goals, both in soccer and with your studies?

RJ — "With respect to sports, I think one of my ultimate goals would be to play professional soccer. In the short term, playing at the college level is definitely my next goal. However, I’ve always kept an open mind with respect to this because I think if I put everything towards one goal I will not be prepared for other paths in life. With respect to my studies, my goal is always to challenge myself. I thrive on academic experiences that challenge me and I feel good when I see the results that come from doing my best."

BT — Please share your thoughts about your brother's achievements in baseball. 

RJ — "I think it's a great achievement for Davis. To be recognized for his ability at his age is great for him. My brother and I have always been very active and athletic growing up and we have both had our ups and downs in both of our sports. I think this is an exciting moment for him and he definitely deserves it because he trains hard and is so dedicated to his sport."

Davis Johnson

Davis started his baseball journey in the Barrington Little League and, after a few years, joined an AAU travel team — the Rhode Island Bombers. He played for the Bombers for two years and then, this past season, he was invited to play for U14 team in the Babe Ruth league. 

A catcher, Davis was recently selected to represent Rhode Island in the U13 age group at the Baseball Power Showcase in Miami, Fla. Through this program, young baseball players are often identified and tracked by top college baseball coaches. To prepare for Baseball Power Showcase, Davis works out twice a week with a personal trainer and practices a selection of drills outlined by his coach, Cody Ortega of the Seawolves.

BT — How excited were you when you learned that you had been selected to participate in the Baseball Power Showcase?

DJ — "… it was more like shocked because it caught me off guard the way my coach told me. He said 'Do you like Marlins Park?' And, I was like 'yeah, that place is cool.'  Then he said 'Well, you’re representing Rhode Island for the 13 year olds this coming December.'"

BT — I can imagine you worked very hard to achieve this.

DJ — "Yes, because I like baseball, I play it all the time. I like going to 365 Sports in Bristol to work on my batting in the cages. I practice my base throwing and blocking drills. I practice hitting drills to drive the ball up the middle of the field. And I practice seeing tunnel vision, where I look for the gaps and straight away in center field.  When I have free time, I really like working on my game.  Right now, I am working on my strength, speed and agility as well as my hitting to get ready for the Power Showcase."

BT — How did your early days playing sports in Barrington help form who you have become as an athlete?

DJ — "The Barrington Little League program gave me lots of opportunity to play baseball when I was younger. I love the game and I had lots of fun playing with my friends. However, the reason I am the player I am today is because of my dad. He has always pushed me to work on my game. He constantly spends time with me at the field, taking time out of his day to make me a better player. I learn so much of my knowledge of the game from him because he was once a really good catcher and he taught me how to control the team and be a leader. I am really thankful for that. It would have to be too dark out to play or he would have to be completely exhausted to say no to taking me to the field to practice."

BT — Did you have certain coaches or experiences that drove you to perform at a higher level?

DJ — "The competition I faced in AAU really drove me to step up my game. As you get older you see better pitching, hitting and fielding. And, as other players step their game up you need to step your game up faster. One of the things I really liked about playing AAU was when I started playing for Cody Ortega and the Atlantic Seawolves. I liked it because I felt like my teammates were good players and that challenged me to be better…"

BT — What are your goals for baseball?

DJ — "Right now, I want to focus on continuing to be a starter on my middle school team at Moses Brown. When I get to high school, my goal is to make varsity and start for that team as well. My long-term goal is to play college ball and my ultimate dream is to play in the MLB. For college, I’d really like to go to Ole Miss. Not only do they have a great athletics department, their academics are top notch too. So, I know I need to work really hard at school right now so that I always have a fall back plan. Any athlete knows that injury is always a possibility, so school is really important."

BT — Please share your thoughts about Ryan’s success in soccer.

DJ — "I am really proud of my brother. I find that Ryan is an inspiration to me the way he balances both school and sports. I’d like to take after him and achieve the same kinds of accomplishments that he has. It’s impressive to me how hard he works, how he always wants to go to the field and work on his game. We both have that in common. I guess it’s because we both love our sports so much."