THREE Pro Shottas footballers, who are on scholarships in the United States have earned rave reviews for their play, attitude and classroom studies over the past year.
Drew Plant won the admiration of his coach Bobby Murphy at St Stephen’s Academy in Austin, Texas, both Andre Sandiford-Williams and David Castagne impressed coach John Miglarese at John Brown University (JBU) in Arkansas with their work ethic.
In his post-season assessment, Murphy said Plant had done a great job in being part of team.
“His good nature has endeared him to the students and faculty alike. In soccer Drew has been a model citizen,” Murphy said.
Murphy also noted that Plant was working hard to adjust to the speed and technical demands of American soccer.
In his report, Miglarese said that Sandiford-Williams played an integral role in the team’s success and is held in high regard by his teammates.
“His technical ability and athleticism allowed him to secure a starting role from the very beginning. He played left back and holding midfield when necessary and helped a very young team have a good season.
“Andre has proven to be very teachable and loyal. His teammates respect him and care for him as his personality allowed him to build quality relationships,” Miglarese said.
He also pointed out that Sandiford-Williams, who joined JBU in the summer this year, made the adjustment to a challenging academic environment by maintaining a B average in all his classes.
In his evaluation of Castagne, Miglarese noted that as a freshman he quickly established himself as one of JBU’s key defensive midfielders.
“His work rate, passion for the game, and care for others allowed him to win the respect of the coaching staff and players alike.”
Miglarese said he was very proud of the way Castagne coped with a major knee injury, which he sustained after eight games and sidelined him for the next ten months.
“This time was very difficult for David but he handled it with class, professionalism and humility,” Miglarese wrote.
“It galvanised his commitment to the programme, to his teammates, and to the Lord. He is still not quite back to 100 per cent, however, he had strong performances in critical games this past fall,” he noted.
“As he heads into his junior season, he has become one of our team leaders and a player who the coaching staff will build around for future seasons,” Miglarese added.
Castagne is also doing well in his studies, maintaining an almost A average in all his classes.
