As we travel the world, we always meet with recruits that have a dream of playing professionally in their respective sport, and although we never want to rain on anyone’s dreams, the reality is that working on a parallel path is the best route to take to compare what options you have on both sides and make a viable decision that is best for you.
We had the opportunity to work with Odysseus (Ody) Alfa, and incredibly bright young footballer at Harrow School in London, had incredible grades, played for QPR’s Academy, and was on the path to become a pro footballer. However, he knew the reality of his chances of getting a contract that was worth giving up a quality education in the US or UK.
We started working with Ody in July of 2016 and over the next four months we connected him to
- Princeton
- University of San Francisco
- Boston College
- Wake Forest
- Penn State University
- Wisconsin
- Santa Clara University
- Duke University
- Ohio State University
- University of New Hampshire
- Brown University
- University of North Carolina
- Northeastern University
- Columbia University
- Stanford University
Many of these schools offered a substantial scholarship, if not a full ride, however, after meeting with his club in Jan 2017, he was offered a six figure contract with QPR and decided to stay on with the club and has since been playing with QPR U-23s.
Ody shared how this process helped him make an informed decision and ultimately couldn’t pass up a six figure salary a year for a scholarship worth in some cases up to $70k a year.
However, the fact is that stories like this are few and far between. We know the reality of the pro pathway and in many cases it is a nightmare, recently BT Sports released a documentary titled No Hunger in Paradise which clearly discusses the emotionally grueling journey for young footballers who are poised to go pro.
In Ody’s case, choosing the pro pathway was a smart move, however, we know that giving up a substantial scholarship to sign with a club for $50-100 a game with no promises, is not a smart decision, especially when you can come to the US and play at a high level and still return to that same club or maybe even move into a professional club in the US. Like any decision in life, exploring all of your choices to make an educated decision is the smart move. To learn more about the college system and how we can help, please contact us at info@ethosrecruiting.com.