#1 Biography

[Jack_Pow]

My full name is Jack John-William-James Pow. I was born on the 7th November in the East Midlands, England. I’m currently at Stockholm IK who play in the SSL Academy after I moved to Sweden at 11 years old.
Football’s always been a massive part of my life and some of my earliest and fondest memories are from when my dad used to take me up to watch my older cousin play on Sundays.
He did start taking me to games after we moved to try and help me settle.
Football was actually the biggest thing that did help me to be honest. It really helped me to make friends (and more). I’d even go as far as saying it was the thing that helped me pick up the language.
When I was 13 my dad died in an accident. I made a promise to myself that everything I go on to do is for him and I hope I can make him proud.
I started attracting attention from scouts in and around the area after that.
I was then scouted by IF Brommapojkarna, which was kind of mad as this was the team my dad used to take me to see when we first moved over here.
I started out mainly as a wing-back, but I was comfortable playing on either side of the pitch, as a midfielder, or even as a striker. Basically anywhere they wanted me to.
After developing there for a few years, I was eventually offered a scholarship to join the SSL Academy team, Stockholm IK.
I wrapped up my first (academy) season with 3 goals, 5 assists, and a Player of the Match award.
My performances have led to some interest and some discussions have taken place from several clubs from the SSL Majors/Minors.
My focus is now purely on Draft day, and I can’t wait to see where end up next.
In my spare time, when I’m not playing football, I like to read, listen to music, watch films, draw or write, spend time with my friends and family (mum), and have recently taken up photography.

Approved.

[Haramcha]

Joe Mormor’s story is one that begins in the outskirts of Bangkok. Having grown up with just his father and a younger sister, he spent most of his days running around with the local kids, playing in the neighbourhood, racing down the streets on foot or bicycle, playing football, and snacking on whatever they were able to procure.

Once he reached middle school-age, his father insisted that he attend schooling nearer to the centre of the great capital, much to his chagrin. Feeling distanced from his old friends, he long tried to keep up the old relationships, spending all of his free time back in his neighbourhood, largely ignoring the opportunities for friendships he was granted at his new school. Oftentimes, it didn’t feel like it was enough. His friends would have stories and adventures from school that made him feel left out, and due to his commutes, Joe would often have to join his friends midway into whatever shenanigans they were getting up to.

This led to Joe developing an increasing desire to prove himself to still be one of the kids, and not some snob, as he suspected his friends viewed the kids at his new school as. Silly desires lead to silly actions, and one day, Joe decided to tag along with some of the older boys to a party, despite not really knowing what that might even entail. Despite carefully sneaking out, he was eventually found by his father, who picked him up and drove him back home on his scooter. Since then, his father would make Joe help set up his fruit stall in the middle of the city before school, and shut it down in the evening, meaning that Joe was now more or less stuck in the city centre for most of the day.

In order to kill time, Joe signed up for the school’s football team, where he initially struggled to settle in, as the other kids felt he had been ignoring them, and that, despite his obvious talent, was stealing a spot on the team. He did, however, start developing a friendship with a student who was a year older. He was the type of guy who’d just get himself involved in a lot of different sports teams, depending on who needed someone at the time, and as such, he felt little animosity towards Joe. His parents were also operating a stall in the same neighbourhood as Joe’s father, so they would end up on the same bus after school, which eventually led to the two boys talking, and the other student inviting Joe to join him at a nearby football court for a casual game of football. Combining the casual pick-up games with the organised training and matches at school, Joe’s life started to centre around football, which led to a rapid development of his skills. After leading his school team to an important victory, he also won acceptance at school, and feeling that it all came from his footballing skills, he decided to go all in on the sport.

A couple of years later, Joe signed a deal with the Victoria Falls Eagles-academy to hopefully turn his football-obsession into a career that would be able to fetch him enough money to help put his sister through school and university, and not least provide his father with the life that Joe felt he deserved as thanks for all the endeavours that had gone into sending Joe off on the right path.

Approved.

[Rylakn]

I will be writing a much longer introduction to my character as a piece of media for a weekly PT, but here is a glimpse into what Rylakn has going on.

The version of Rylakn you see lining up for an invite to the academy today isn’t the sportsman or even the man he always has been. As an Australian, born in Melbourne, his first love was always AFL football, and he was born with a much more normal name. He played AFL from a young age and was quite good. It was clear very early on that he could make it to an elite level if he tried. This however, would be his downfall ultimately. As someone who was so athletically gifted he rarely felt challenged or like he had to try. He took school for granted and as an excuse to show off for his mates as the class clown. He was overly confident that he was going to become a professional AFL player, to the point of becoming an arrogant narcissist. Life isn’t fair and for Rylakn, he would find that out in more ways than one.

He had so much handed to him for free because of his talents and he actually managed to ride that stream of luck all the way to the AFL. He was drafted in the first round, by his hometown team, the Melbourne Demons, but never managed to play a game. From the age of 18 through to 23, he was on their list, training with the club and working to get a spot in the team. Unfortunately, injuries and attitude kept him from getting into the senior squad. He approached his first offseason the same way he had approached most things in life, assuming he would be fine without trying too hard. He was quickly found wanting and it was a half hearted effort that caused him to get his first shoulder injury. You’d think it would sink in that he needed to do the rehab seriously after the third time he suffered the same shoulder injury, but no, nothing could snap this arrogant young man out of his delusions. Eventually he was able to string some games together in the minor league (VFL), but one final injury caused the team to cut ties, proving that his petulant attitude had burned many bridges at the club. He was unable to find another club to take him on, as he couldn’t pass the fitness tests. The repeated shoulder injuries and surgeries had caused him to lose full motion in his right arm, and raising it above his head was nearly impossible and very painful.

After months of wallowing, the now 24 year old decided to change many things in his life, including his attitude. He didn’t have many prospects in the real world and decided he needed to try his hand at a sport that doesn’t require too much above the head work. He settled on Soccer and began training. In footy he was always a fast paced rebounding defender, so he chose Wing back as his position for Soccer. He worked hard over the last year and now finds himself at 25 years of age, pushing for a place in the SSL academy teams, just to prove that he isn't completely a waste of talent or a precautionary tale. He has much to learn about the great game and even more to do to mold his body into that of a professional soccer player, but one thing is for certain, Rylakn is determined. He has even dropped his name and legally changed to a single word name to sound more exotic and better fit in with the soccer crowd. I guess he still has more talent than sense, but at least now he is trying.

[Domffl]

If you had the misfortune of growing up without listening to the Veggietales' "Silly Songs with Larry," then I implore you to do some YouTube diving. Here's somewhere to get you started. 

It was a dreadful Tuesday night. His Cheeseburger was sunk into the deeply worn cavern on the left side of his lonely loveseat. A re-run of The Andy Griffith Show played on the 26-inch TV painted the room in a monochrome rorschach. The frames on the wall seemed to dance as the sole source of light flickered upon the abstract art. It was the kind of evening that, if you ended the day like this, would depress even high school boys. However, this wasn't the end of His Cheeseburger's day, for he had only just risen a few hours earlier. Ever since his self-titled hit song took over the world for a few months in 1998, he has been attempting to recreate the magic. The fear of becoming a one hit wonder was paralyzing. Nothing he had tried for the past 28 years had worked. His greatest terror had become a reality. 
A shrill ring blasted from his phone. It had been so long since he had heard his phone ring that it startled him. After the second ring, he remembered the sound as his cellphone's ringtone. He glanced down at the caller ID: Unknown Caller. A few years ago, he wouldn't have even had a passing thought about answering a call from an unidentified number. But now, having spent the past 4 days with no human interaction, His Cheeseburger desperately answered, hoping it was a telemarketer whose supervisor forbade from hanging up on the cold call's potential customer. 
"Hello?" 
"Good evening, Mr. Cheeseburger. I am with the SSL Academy. We would like to offer you a contract to come and play semi-professional soccer."
"Okay."









fin.

[canard101]

For as long as Quackareedoo could remember, he had always loved soccer. In his youth, his father had been one of the biggest stars in the Australian league and had played in Europe on several occasions, notably in the Spanish second division. Tim remembered moving to Spain and the passion surrounding soccer there: by the age of 7, he knew what his dream was. He would become a soccer player and thrive in the world’s most prestigious leagues.

His father, who knew the director of the Melbourne youth club, signed him up there, and every evening he practised his ball control, passing, and movement in the family’s backyard. The scouts had undoubtedly spotted what set this young boy apart: unlike his teammates, who sought to make a difference with their technical skills by dribbling like Brazilians, he adopted a more physical, simpler style of play. And it worked: almost every Sunday, he impressed with his precise passing, delivering perfectly weighted through balls to his young teammates, but above all with his hunger for goals. Since he wasn’t the fastest or the most technically skilled, the coach had him play defensive midfield, and he was never in the best positions to score. But when the opportunity arose, he knew how to seize it: a glance toward the goal, another at the ball, and BOOM. The top corner was cleaned.

So it was only natural that he dropped out of high school at age 16, as several professional clubs were interested in signing him. Although he had tried out for teams in other leagues, both in Europe and South America, he naturally decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, and before long, he was training with the Sydney Academy team.  He adapted quickly. Having built muscle during his teenage years, he was able to compete with the most physically imposing adults in Australia.
He even scored his first goal, and his first longshot, in his first professional game in the Academy division: the rest is history.

[Bergmau]

Christopher Bergmann was born near Cologne, Germany in the Spring of 1999. Soon after his family would move to a small town near the french border, where he grew up. As soon as he was old enough to kick a ball, he started playing football. All throughout his youth he played club football, never at the highest level but always to his best abilities. Occasionally squaring of against youth teams of professional clubs nearby such as Kaiserslautern or Mainz 05.

He liked to move into open spaces and work up and down the line as a right back who was always solid defensivly and occasionally would go on and contribute offensivly. Although he prefered the right side due to his weaker left foot, he also played on the left side if needed by the team. Bergmann never was a flashy player known for his dribblings or flair. He had decent speed, great positioning, always brought the right attitude and could if required get a bit rough with his opponents, earning him the nickname "Holzfäller" from his teammates. With legs looking like logs, he would chop down opponents with fair challenges if they got a bit too cocky. Despite his nickname, Bergmann is yet to receive a red card in his carrer, hoping to continue this streak for as long as possible.

For his studies he moved back to his old home Cologne. Introduced into the culture of Cologne by his parents and extended family over the years he spend away from Cologne, finally getting to experience it as a citizen not visitor was well worth the wait. This also led to Bergmann rediscovering his love for the hometown club of Köln, 1. FC Köln, of which he had been a member ever since his dad gifted him the membership when he was six years old. Now being able to regularly attend games and seeing the city cheer and suffer together, his support grew stronger than ever.

Once he got the opportunity to join the SSL after finishing his masters, Bergmann decided it was time to give his dream of becoming a professional football player another shot.

[Joriel]

Jonathon Jameston was not a soccer athlete before he joined the league.  He was athletic, but wasn't really an athlete in any sport.  He always did well in gym class when competing with others, but never found any sport that interested him.  Though, he was urged by others to go join a team.  Instead, he was interest in his studies and really focused on a literary career.  He spent most of his time working on his academics to get into a good college.

After he made it to college, he continued to grind the academic part, but found he had more free time.  One day, he was walking through campus and was invited to play in a pick-up soccer game with some friends he had made at the school.  Some of the players in the game where on the team and suggested he try out for the team as he had some skills, but nothing refined and was missing some of the fundamentals.  These players talked to the coach and got Jameston a try-out.  This is how he was able to be added to the team.

His playing career in college was a climb to say the least.  He kept up on his studies, but started spending all his free time on learning the fundamentals.  As part of this, his teammates and coaches helped him master these since the faster he was fundamentally sound, the more useful he would be to the team in general.  He played limited time to start, but over the course of his career, he became much much better until he was one of the better players on his team by the end of his sophomore year.  He continued to improve from this point as he was still refining his trade.  All the while, he was continuing to work on his literary career.  After his Senior year, he was one of the better players in the nation from all the hard work that was put in and he had a degree to fall back on. 

At this point, he was able to join the Academy.  It was the start of his current run in the SSL.  The rest is waiting to be written.

[Sizz]

Born "Maximus Velox" in 79 AD Rome, his life was permanently disrupted when he decided to play in a shimmering metallic vessel hidden near the Colosseum's foundations. He had no idea it was a time traveling device. The vessel's owner then panicked upon discovering the eight-year-old stowaway on the return journey and decided to break every time traveling safety protocol. The fear of a catastrophic butterfly effect by returning him to his own time and being caught haunted the traveler, so they abandoned the boy in a 2016 Philadelphia alleyway with nothing but a linen tunic and utter confusion.

He was found days later wandering the Italian Market and was quickly placed into the social care system and eventually taken in by a kind, soccer-obsessed foster family. The transition was brutal for Max. The city noise, the towering structures and foreign language took a toll on the young roman boy. He was, however, able to find comfort in a battered leather ball. Soccer required no English; at least at first, it only demanded instinct. On the concrete pitches of Philly, Max was able to utilize his instincts of "survival", the type of traits that might have once made him a formidable Roman legionnaire, and morphed himself into a tireless and creative wingback.

While other "normal" kids spent their weekends playing video games, Max played with his ball. By high school, the slightly awkward, intense boy with an uncanny tactical mind was dominating the high school opposition. He was relentless. There was no rest for his will, determination and goal to be one of the "modern" gladiators on the pitch. He blazed through the youth ranks. Max was an unstoppable force fueled by a secret known only to him, that this wasn't his time... To any scouts watching him, Max was simply a gifted, rising prodigy in the sport. At seventeen, a major academy from the SSL offered him a full-time spot. He wasn't just exceptionally fast... His last name of "Velox", Latin for swift, was like a prophecy come true. Only he knew his true journey to the professional pitch actually began two millennia ago.

[Quitolis]

Thomas Thunder did not come from money or any kind of soccer legacy. He grew up in Paris and mostly just spent his time out in the park playing with the other kids. Some became his friends, but some not so much, since the play grew to be pretty competitive. It turns out quite a few of those kids had some exceptional skill. Maybe it was a little bit lucky for them all that they had a good large field and a lot of talent to compete with. 

Thunder never really had any big breaks before the academy, but he did have the opportunity to play for a small club in Paris. The league was just within the city so it never really gave Thunder much of a chance to get away from home. The other thing is that the league was not really all that good. At times it seemed like the guys in the park were better opponents and practice partners than the defenders that Thunder played against in the city league. Fortunately he actually had a pretty good support staff. Both his parents and coaches knew that he was special and that he needed more.  They forced Thomas to work on his schooling and found ways to keep him mentally sharp. 

Then eventually when he was almost the right age his parents throw him a surprise party where they announced that he was going to get accepted in The Academy.  Thunder at this point knew it was a possibility but he had no set his hopes on it reeeeeally happening. He had to get ready! It was going to be his first time away from home and that was going to become his new normal. He knows the odds. He knows that over 90% of players in The Academy get selected to play on SSL Minor league clubs.