Blog

For Alexander Brems, pre-season in college was one of the most exciting experiences. When he first arrived at Mercyhurst University, he didn’t know what to expect, but he was up for the challenge. He was 20 years old and moved into an apartment with three other students-two from Mexico and one from the Netherlands, who was also 25. It was a big change, but also exciting. The day before pre-season, the team received their apparel from sponsor Under Armour, which set a professional tone for what was to come.

The first day began with a meeting at 8am, where the players introduced themselves and the coaching team went through some ground rules. Then it was time for the first test, a 2-mile run (about 3.2 kilometers), which had to be completed in under 12 minutes. For most, this was an achievable goal, but as goalkeeper, Brems only just managed to break the barrier. After the test, there was a short football training session where the team’s basic principles were reviewed. The day continued with recovery in the athletic training room, where colleges in the US place great emphasis on player rehabilitation and care. After his first experience with an ice bath, Brems was skeptical, but over time he began to appreciate its benefits.

The team had lunch together in the cafeteria, where there was an extensive buffet with everything from water to sodas, milk and cocoa. The food was of high quality at Mercyhurst, although the quality could vary from university to university. After lunch, there was time for a short break before training started again at 3 p.m. Many players chose to take a nap, while others spent the time playing FIFA. Everyone lived close to each other on campus, which made the community stronger.

At 2pm we headed back to the athletic training room to prepare for the second workout of the day. Here there was access to foam rollers, heating pads, elastic bands and help from the physiotherapists who were ready to assist with warming up and taping as needed. Although the morning test could still be felt, it was a pleasure to get back into the soccer game. Under 30 degree heat, they trained for an hour and a half, and afterwards a large tub of cold water was ready for the team. The physiotherapists added more ice and water bottles of Gatorade were handed out for the players to recover.

After a well-deserved break and a shower, the team ate together again. The food was plentiful and there was the option to take a cup of milk and cookies back to the room as snacks. The evening ended with relaxation, movies, series or another game of FIFA. The apartment decided to watch the Blue Mountain State series about American college football, which only made Brems look forward to the rest of his first year at Mercyhurst even more.

In the world of football, many young talents strive to reach the professional level. Unfortunately, the road to success isn’t always easy, and for some, the eye of the needle can be hard to pass. Fortunately, there are other paths to the professional dream and experience. Since 2017, we at NSSA have been working with what we call the world’s best plan-b for the men’s players who don’t make it through the eye of the needle in Denmark. It is with great pleasure that we have been given the opportunity to work with a lot of talented young people who are going through a fantastic sporting and personal development during their college stay in the US. In recent years, we have also had the opportunity to help a number of FC Helsingør talents go to college, including;

Alexander Stjernegaard (Marshall University), Luca Costabile (University of Maryland), Ramesh Delsouz (Quinnipiac University), Nikolaj Juul Bay-Smidt (VCU), William Arnesen (Old Dominion University), Marcus Hedemann (Flagler College), Magnus Kjøller (Wofford College) and Joshua Hansen (Stony Brook University).

After winning the title of Freshman Of the Year in the Southern Conference last year, Nikolai has entered his second year in the US with significantly higher expectations for his name.
In his debut season last year, he scored 9 goals in 16 games.
This year he has scored 11 goals in 17 games and several of the goals have been crucial and important.
A good example is his 1-1 equalizer in the dying minutes of their game against UNC Greensboro – see the score below 💪⬇️