Donegal man’s Florida-based Good Lad Soccer teams head for Foyle Cup

As the Foyle Cup approaches, Donegal will have a heavy involvement in the competition, with teams around the county competing in one of Europe’s most prestigious youth tournaments.

Over 950 teams are expected to compete in different underage groups at both boys and girls levels from across the world, but two teams will be making their way from Florida under the tutelage of a Donegal man.

Gavin Carlin from the Crossroads, Killygordon, runs GoodLad Soccer in Jacksonville, the most populous city in Florida.

Carlin, along with assistant Luis Calderon, will bring 25 players over from two teams who will compete in the Boys U12 and Girls U14 competitions, respectively.

Along with that, a total of 144 are coming over from the Northeast of Florida, between friends and family of the players, to support them as they look to bring the prestigious trophy back across the Atlantic Ocean.

The East Donegal native is no stranger to the Foyle Cup, competing for the Lifford & District side and Crumlin United, so his teams are well warned of the high quality.

“It was always in the back of my mind, but one of the parents mentioned the dates, and it lined up,” Carlin told DonegalLive.

“I’m from the area too, so I thought about giving it a go, and it has gone really well so far.

“I played in the Foyle Cup in 2004 and 2005 but 20 years later, I’m taking over teams to the tournament.

“We would have done well with Crumlin, and we might have got to a semi-final or quarter-final, but we didn’t win it. Eight of the Crumlin side got scholarships or contracts in England and Scotland.

“But I’m bringing these two sides over, and we’ll fully expect them to win it and that’s the thing with the American culture, they wouldn’t be coming over to just take part.

“I have them well warned that it will be a high intense and aggressive environment that they’ll be going in to play in, but it will be a clash of two worlds. The Irish and English kids might be more advanced tactically, whereas the American work ethic, conditioning, and physical side will benefit them.”

A son of Sean and Mary Carlin, Gavin’s journey began from playing as a goalkeeper for his local Curragh Athletic, to Lifford & District, and then to Crumlin United.

The time in Dublin gave him a chance to get trials in England with Chelsea, Charlton Athletic, Leicester City, and West Bromwich Albion, who he eventually would sign for.

Injuries hampered his time in England, but a chance to go to Jacksonville University to play and study changed everything.

“West Brom were a bit of a yo-yo club between the Premier League and Championship but I thought it was the best opportunity to get in there and play first-team games.

“I was there from 2007 to 2009, but I picked up a couple of injuries and if you get injured over there, you can really fall behind because there’s another boy coming behind you, and the boy behind me was Ryan Allsop who is the Birmingham City goalkeeper now.

“I went to Forest Green in the Conference but the same again with knee injuries.

“So the opportunity to go to America came up when I was 20 years old and I snatched that.

“I didn’t think I’d ever stick it with the heat, but 14 years later, I’ve a house and a wife and a child here!

“I graduated in 2014 and after four knee injuries, rather than play in the second tier, I could see the writing on the wall.

“I started coaching with the local clubs to make rent and I saw a real opening in the market for high-intensity coaching in Jacksonville.

“I always felt what’s for you won’t pass you. When I was at West Brom, I was never thinking about coaching.

“But I took a leap of faith and drained the savings to rent an indoor facility in 2016, but there were 90 kids the first year who signed up and it rose to 120, 150, and up to what it is now.

“A typical year now I’d be working with 300-400 kids a year, but this year alone it’s grown to over 500. There are around nine to ten coaches helping them with different events between winter camps, private training, and International trips.”

The interest in Florida has certainly grown, as with the rest of America as their top division, Major League Soccer (MLS), expands.

When Carlin moved over in 2011, Florida didn’t have a team in the MLS, but since then, Orlando City SC joined the league, and attention was brought to them when Ballon d’Or winner Kaka joined.

And the Donegal native admits that since Inter Miami joined the league and most notably, signed eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup winner Lionel Messi, the game has exploded in the state.

“You could barely see a game on TV when I first came over, NFL and college football is king and then baseball and basketball.

“But since 2016, when NBC started showing the Premier League, it really blew up, and with Messi coming here, it has been like Michael Jordan to Donegal.

“It really brought it to another stratosphere.”

The team will fly over at the end of the week, with the opening ceremony taking place on Monday, July 21, the same day of the first round of games.

The Good Lad Soccer boys kick off their campaign that day against Letterkenny club Ballyraine before playing Foyle Harps Colts, while the girls begin against the Derry pair of Don Boscos Blues and Tristar FC on the same day.