From USP to USA!

At USP College I studied Level 3 BTEC Sport & Exercise Science. I enjoyed the academic side of college as I was a good student, and was determined to always finish my work on time, and eventually gained a D*D*D as my final result, which I was very happy about.

Whilst at USP I was part of the USP Storm Football Academy and this was a great experience which definitely helped me to develop further as a player and as a person. It also really improved my technical abilities.

After leaving USP College this year, and as Covid was starting to become really bad in England, I managed to travel to Australia where I was lucky to be able to spend several months.

But it wasn't just a holiday for me, as I had to maintain my fitness and keep up with my football training, as in March 2020 I had received an offer from a college in America to study and play football for two years, in one of the toughest soccer programs and leagues, the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association).

I knew that I wanted to study and play football in America, especially in the MLS (Major League Soccer), a league which represents the sport’s highest level in USA and Canada. So I started looking at scholarships and through the USA Scholarship program called JBElite, I was invited to multiple games which were filmed and given to many coaches in the USA. I was lucky to receive two offers, one from Iowa and one from a college in Texas. I chose Iowa as their football program is a tough program and I figured it would help my football develop and impress any team that showed an interest in my potential.

I am now in Iowa at Iowa Lakes Community College and I have been here since 20 August. Obviously arriving in the height of a pandemic has massively affected my training schedule. My studies are online which is helpful, but I’m only allowed outside for a certain amount of time, so it hasn’t been possible to train as much as I would have liked. It was made even more difficult recently when I tested positive for Covid and could not train for two weeks, that time was especially hard for me.

My plan while I'm here is to train and perform in games so I get noticed by an NCAA (National College Athletic Association) Division 1 school or a professional team, in the hopes of them offering me a trial. I am really excited to see where this experience takes me!