You could say that when Ballan Campeau stepped onto CenturyLink Field during the recent Sounders reunion game that it was for the first time in almost 40 years. But in truth, he was never all that far away.

More importantly, he never stopped loving the game.

Campeau played for the Seattle team for two years ­— 1974 and ‘75 — and has been since then a coach of various level teams in several states, including the Bainbridge Island Football Club.

A Northwest native born in Portland, Oregon, Campeau grew up primarily in West Seattle where he attended Seattle Preparatory. Following his tenure with the Sounders, he moved away and went to graduate school. He said that he has since resided mostly in California.

The former Sounders goalie remembered that upon his informing BIFC director Ian McCallum of his intent to move to Bainbridge several years ago, he found himself involved in the club before he had even settled in.

“I coached quite a bit as things went along,” he said. “I talked to Ian, probably six years ago now. He had just come to the island. He was brand-new. I said that someday I’d like to move there and get involved.”

He made his plans, packed up his family and told McCallum he was on his way two years ago.

Next thing he knew, Campeau said, he had been assigned a team.

“He stays on top of things,” he said of the club director, and laughed.

Campeau coaches a Youth 13 team for the BIFC, and also assists McCallum (who assumed the head coach position at Bainbridge High School last season) by working with the Spartan goalies.

It’s a unique opportunity for the students, and it keeps him in the game.

Statistically, of course, most club players will never take their playing to the level that Campeau did. He said that when coaching he has had to adjust his mindset away from the intensity of constant professionalism and temper his style with some fun.

It’s a change, he said, he has made over many years of coaching.

“I am pretty intense around the game,” he said. “But I also listen for laughter. If the kids are having fun then things are going well, especially for the 12-year-olds. They have to have fun.

“How many of these kids will even play high school? Who knows, and then college is really competitive these days, too,” he added.

Today’s American soccer culture, especially in this region, is a far cry from the lackluster attention the sport received during his childhood days, Campeau remembered.

“When I was growing up, the only time we ever saw soccer on TV was on ‘Wide World of Sports,’” he laughed, adding that his favorite sport inevitably was forced to share very limited screen time with other perhaps less mainstream sports, like bull riding or gymnastics.

“They would play portions of the World Cup,” he said. “Nowadays, just about anytime of the day you can find soccer on television.”

Campeau said that in the Northwest in particular, the sport’s popularity is highly visible. It’s a fact readily apparent to anybody who happens to be on the ferry on a home match night. And even at the junior and high school level, he said, our local participation is better than the average.

“The Sounders’ average [attendance] is the sum of the next four teams,” he said. “In terms of the national stage, I think it’s really night-and-day from 1974 to now.”

On Bainbridge Island, Campeau said, there’s about 20 percent of school-age kids participating in the football club, which is double the state average.

“We have a lot of interest in the program,” he said. “I think the island has a good soccer culture.”

Whether his coaching time better prepared him to retake the field during the Sounders 40th anniversary reunion match earlier this month, Campeau said he isn’t sure.

He did, however, set a professional goal for himself at the game.

“My two goals were don’t get embarrassed and don’t get hurt,” he laughed. “I think I accomplished both of them.”

The reunion match took place just prior to the Sounders hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps, and greats like Jimmy McAllister, Pepe Fernandez, Scott Jenkins, Chance Fry, Darren Sawatzky and Kevin Sakuda were all on the returning roster.

The Sounders alumni played two 20-minute halves prior to the start of the main match later that evening.

Though he may have tamed down his trademark hair, the wild and curly coif from his Sounders days, Campeau said he quickly found all the old rhythms again.

“I think there were probably 40 guys who showed up to play,” he said. “You could tell the competitive juices were starting to flow.”

Back on Bainbridge, Campeau said he is looking forward to assisting with another BHS season and enjoying his position  with the BIFC.

“I think it’s a good club,” he said. “Compared to what I’ve learned about other clubs in Washington state, I think it’s well-run with a lot of interested and dedicated people involved.”