2025-08-17, 06:36 PM - Word count:
Draft night.
The night where I'd find out where my journey in professional soccer would take me next.
I'd heard from a few teams in the scouting process leading up to the draft, and all I could hope for at this point was that it would be enough. My sister Caitlin had seen two similar draft falls in her professional hockey journey by falling to 26th in the junior draft before going to Quebec City and by getting picked up at 50th overall by the Calgary Dragons in the major-league entry draft, and she'd been a rock for me in helping prepare for any eventualities. The dream destination that stuck out on the list of SSL teams was Liffeyside Celtic. It had been a tough year being so far away from my family, and while it would be a while before I'd make it to the top level the knowledge that I could eventually get to represent my home country would be a powerful motivator to work hard and make it to the top. As a newly expanded team, they would surely be hungry for prospects like myself, so I liked my chances. Even in the minor leagues, a lot of the teams were in Europe and one was even in Montreal near where Caitlin was playing, so I'd be at least closer to my loved ones than I was now in Turkey.
The first round went by without my name being called, though I'd expected this as other players had put up flashier numbers in the Academy season. As the second round also came and went, I then started to get a little more nervous. At this point, my fate was really up in the air, but the uncertainty would soon be resolved.
Pick 28. Liffeyside Celtic had traded up with another team to get this pick. The manager stepped up.
"With the 28th pick in the SSL draft, Liffeyside Celtic FC selects, from Istanbul FK, Orla Hughes-Galloway."
It had happened.
Hands shaking, I picked up the phone and called my parents as soon as I could.
"Mam, Dad," I started, "I got picked by Celtic. It'll probably take a few years, but if I can keep working at it...I'm coming home to Dublin."
The night where I'd find out where my journey in professional soccer would take me next.
I'd heard from a few teams in the scouting process leading up to the draft, and all I could hope for at this point was that it would be enough. My sister Caitlin had seen two similar draft falls in her professional hockey journey by falling to 26th in the junior draft before going to Quebec City and by getting picked up at 50th overall by the Calgary Dragons in the major-league entry draft, and she'd been a rock for me in helping prepare for any eventualities. The dream destination that stuck out on the list of SSL teams was Liffeyside Celtic. It had been a tough year being so far away from my family, and while it would be a while before I'd make it to the top level the knowledge that I could eventually get to represent my home country would be a powerful motivator to work hard and make it to the top. As a newly expanded team, they would surely be hungry for prospects like myself, so I liked my chances. Even in the minor leagues, a lot of the teams were in Europe and one was even in Montreal near where Caitlin was playing, so I'd be at least closer to my loved ones than I was now in Turkey.
The first round went by without my name being called, though I'd expected this as other players had put up flashier numbers in the Academy season. As the second round also came and went, I then started to get a little more nervous. At this point, my fate was really up in the air, but the uncertainty would soon be resolved.
Pick 28. Liffeyside Celtic had traded up with another team to get this pick. The manager stepped up.
"With the 28th pick in the SSL draft, Liffeyside Celtic FC selects, from Istanbul FK, Orla Hughes-Galloway."
It had happened.
Hands shaking, I picked up the phone and called my parents as soon as I could.
"Mam, Dad," I started, "I got picked by Celtic. It'll probably take a few years, but if I can keep working at it...I'm coming home to Dublin."
<center><img src='https://i.imgur.com/X6cSRMC.jpeg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></center><br><center>Sig by Pandar</center>
