More Kingston students head for the States (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

More Kingston students head for the States

4:17pm Wednesday 11th May 2011 in Your League

Sam Nicholson playing for Ventura Fusion against Michael Brown and Hayden Mullens from Portsmouth FC in California.

Two Kingston soccer players have followed their football dream and have graduated from the College’s football academy to American Universities where they are combining their soccer excellence with degree programmes. They will be joined in the US in August by three more products of the Kingston scheme.

Now the skills and training that enabled these players to progress in the US is being made available to other aspiring footballers in the West London area who want to explore the opportunities of student football scholarships.

Dom Dwyer and Sam Nicholson left Kingston to go stateside in 2009. They are both now at leading soccer colleges in Florida and California. Mitchell O’Connor followed them to the US in 2010. Sam’s brother Ben Nicholson, Pat Moore and Sam Boultwood are all from the class of 2011 who have won athletic scholarships that will start this summer.

“US universities offer a huge opportunity for these boys to progress their football careers in superb sporting environments, within great facilities and at the same time earning their degrees,” said Martyn Spong, who has been responsible for all their football development while in Kingston. “It is as close as you can get to living the training lifestyle of a professional footballer without being paid.

"A lot will be expected of them as players and individuals, but our boys have never let anyone down.”