Compliments of the

Web Posted - Fri Jun 04 2004
By John Aymes

Nineteen year-old midfield soccer player Anton Nicholls will be leaving for the United States next semester with the assistance of an academic grant thanks to Syracuse University.

Nicholls could receive a full scholarship in his second year at the New York University depending on his performance during his first year.

The budding soccer player is the second product of the Barbados Soccer Academy (BSA) to be accepted by the institution. Fellow BSA member Jonathan Jones received a full academic scholarship to Syracuse to the tune of BDS$70 000 per year.

Nicholls scored 1 290 on his SATs recently as part of the BSA programme, where sitting the American college entrance exam is mandatory for members of the academy.

In the last six months, 12 members of the BSA have sat the exam and have all scored above 1 000.

“The academy tries to marry the academic with the athletic,” said Jabez “Jack” Bovell, Director of the BSA.

The lanky Nicholls is likened to Brazilian striker Rivaldo but says his game is comparable to that of Frenchman Patrick Vieira.

“I was exposed to many new techniques and aspects that I was not aware of after I joined the academy,” Nicholls said. The focused young athlete said that he noticed some personal improvement as a result of training from the coaches who took him to “another level.”

Nicholls, who has been involved in the sport since the age of seven, says he has worked hard toward his goal of making a career of football.

He named young Barbadian defender Rommel Burgess as an inspiration to him.

Burgess, a former student of the Lodge School attends Southern Newhampshire University in the United States on soccer scholarship and represents Barbados at the senior national level.

Compliments of the Barbados Advocate

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