Player Insider: Back for Another Year
By: Austin Amer
August 30, 2018
My name is Austin Amer and I am entering my second year with Barca Residency Academy. I was born in Tampa Florida where I have always lived with my parents and little sister. I started playing soccer extremely young with my dad having mini soccer balls around before I could even walk. My dad had always played soccer when he was younger and it wasn’t long before he was training me daily. I played a few years of competitive soccer in Tampa and then started playing in Orlando at age 11 for the top team that age in Florida. It was then that I started doing online/virtual school as playing in Orlando required a lot of time traveling back and forth as well as time spent staying with a teammate in that town.
When Orlando was awarded a MLS team, I then moved into the academy and played through U16. My last year with Orlando city, the academy went through huge changes with the director and many coaches leaving. It was then that I started looking into other playing opportunities. I had heard that RSL was leaving Casa Grande and even though I didn’t think I would want to play in Arizona, I decided to attend an early tryout and check out the academy. It was during that trip that I realized how much Casa Grande had to offer me as a player as well as academically. Shortly after that trip, the Barca affiliation was announced. I decided that I wanted to come here to grow and progress as a player, as well as it gave me a chance to return to regular school before graduating.
The year ended up going extremely well. The U19 team started off a bit slow, then we really started to gel and come together as a team mid-season, and just barely missed out on a playoff spot. Coaching and training was very good throughout the year. I’ve decided to postpone my college offers at this time and return for another season at Barca to explore my playing options and continue our goal as a team and make the DA playoffs this year.
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