Benjamin Mitcheson '19 Recruiting Profile

UPDATE: DECEMBER 2021

During the collegiate season I captained LTCC, playing in a variety of positions (CB, LB, and CM). I finished 8th in the Golden Valley Conference points table, scoring 8 goals and having 4 assists.

LTCC finished second in their conference.

On the 16th December 2021 I was selected to the  2021 Junior College Men’s Scholar All-America Team and will receive my award in  Kansas City on the 22nd January 2022.

UPDATE: MAY 2021

College pre-season training now underway.  Reached level 16 / 2 in beep test, as verified by my coach.

UPDATE: APRIL 2021

I attended try-outs at Battle Born FC, a new team entering the UPSL 4^th Division men’s professional development soccer league, on the 6th February 2021.

I was successful in being recruited to play as a CB, and have enjoyed both training, and playing several friendly games, with the team during February, March and April.

The season starts on the 1st of May with a game against Kongo FC, followed by a game against Real Salt Lake City U19 Academy on the 2nd May.

Video highlights from both these games can now be viewed on my profile.

I see playing for Battle Born FC as the next step up in my soccer development, and look forward to being tested by playing against quality opposition.

UPDATE: AUGUST 2020

I attended the Pro Soccer Consulting (PSC) Atlanta three-day tryout at the end of July and received the following excellent feedback:

‘During the tryout you stood out from players around you and now just need to improve your consistency (be 90% consistent throughout the game, rather than 80%) to earn a trial or contract offer. We saw enough ability and potential in you, and more importantly recognised your character, as one we would like to put in front of a wider range of scouts from different countries and levels around the world. We are very interested in testing you against professional opposition to evaluate how you respond to playing against top level players.

Our coaches and agency staff believe you just need some fine tuning, and to be exposed to a greater number of clubs, in order to get a professional contract’

Although I went to the tryout as a CM I was played as a CB and attracted interest from several of the attending coaches. Considering I was not playing in my primary position I believe I adapted well to the CB position, which resulted in the excellent face-to-face feedback I received from the coaches during the three days, and the written feedback noted above.

I am one of only two players who attended the tryout to be selected for the upcoming PSC European Showcase Tour to Spain. This is a ten-day tour during which I will be coached by professional coaches from Spanish soccer teams, in addition to playing games against professional opposition.

Building on this experience I am ready to further develop my soccer skills at a division 1 university, and to continue with my education to achieve a good degree. Being a competent CM and CB I can add a different dimension and flexibility to a team.

INITIAL PERSONAL STATEMENT

My aim is to become a professional football (soccer) player, however, gaining a good education is just as important, which is why I have enrolled on a soccer programme in America.

From the age of 8 years I have played football at the highest level for my age group. I played for Handsworth Boys FC, one of the top three teams in the Sheffield & District Junior Sunday League. This league is the largest junior league in Europe. I was team captain for most of this time. Aged 16 years I joined Sheffield FC, the oldest football club in the world. Sheffield FC are a semi-professional team in the 8th tier of the English Football League (The Premiership being Tier 1). During the seasons 2017/18 and 2018/19 I started every game for their U18 and U19 teams. During the 2018/19 season I captained the U18's to the league and cup double, the cup final being played at Bramall Lane, the home of Sheffield United FC, a premiership team. In the same season I was selected, and played, for the 1^st team on five occasions. I am in no doubt if I had not decided to pursue my soccer career by coming to America, and enrolling on a soccer programme, I would have secured a contract to play for a semi-professional club in England, which would have been the first step towards becoming a professional football player.

I enrolled on the soccer programme at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) in September 2019. LTCC finished the conference season second (overall 11-7-3, conference 9-2-1), and I was ranked 10^th in the Golden Valley Conference.

I am a box-to-box midfielder with a selfless style of play, consistently making a high number of tackles and interceptions, always playing at a high intensity. I play the game simply; closing down opponents, getting my foot in, breaking up play, starting off offensive plays, helping in a defensive role, and arriving in the opponents penalty box to score goals. I believe my video highlights show off these qualities and demonstrate my determined style of play. The video '2019 Collegiate Season (Condensed) Highlights' is 13 minutes long and shows all aspects of my play, whereas the video '2019 Collegiate soccer shortened highlights' is nearly 5 minutes long and only shows certain aspects of my play.

Being good in the air, strong in the challenge, and equally comfortable with both feet, allowing me to play out from the back, I have played centre back on many occasions for previous teams I have played for. I am currently learning the role of a center back more in training as I do enjoy playing here as I can read the whole game, lead my team from the back and I am also very comfortable on the ball and enjoy playing out from the back starting off the attack. 

At LTCC I am enrolled on the Business Administration AS-T degree and will be looking to transfer to a CSU to complete my bachelor’s degree in September 2021. Having had a successful first season at LTCC I intend building on my success next season, with a view to attracting offers from Universities currently playing soccer to a very high standard ready for September 2021.

My preference when transferring would be to play for an NCAA Division 1 team. However, to realise my dream of becoming a professional soccer player, I am willing to consider offers from any university who play soccer at the most competitive level where I can be stretched and developed.