Central Baptist College’s Bryce Deaton has joined the Little Rock Rangers National Premier Soccer League for their inaugural season this summer. Situated in the greater central Arkansas area, the team is comprised entirely of NCAA eligible and older players.
Bryce is currently in his Sophmore year (2nd year) at CBC after transferring from his first school, AIB College. So far, Bryce has confirmed that he enjoys attending CBC a great deal more than AIB, due to the campus environment and overall organization of the institution.
Bryce has made some great progress on the field as shown through his acceptance onto the Little Rock Rangers NPSL Team!
Being selected for the Little Rock Rangers:
Bryce found out the at the Little Rock Rangers were hosting trials through his current coach, as he coached the summer squad during the football off season and suggested that he trial for the team. As a number of his teammates were trailing, Bryce decided to head to the trial himself to see what the level of play was. Upon completing the trial, Bryce was successfully accepted onto the NPSL team.
In comparison to the level of play within college, the NPSL is the ‘next step’, Bryce describes the play as “… a lot faster, there are a number of ex MLS players and therefore the level of play is much higher…there are no imperfections within the game and each player on their own holds an integral part in the success of the team”
The newly formed little Rock Rangers show some great sporting potential, Bryce shares his passion for the sport and the opportunity that he has been given “… I love my football and it was a great opportunity, an opportunity that if you receive, you need to run with it. I’ve been working hard to reach a certain standard that I want to be at. Being in the environment that I am right now, training twice a day, it has given me the opportunity to take in the experience and take my football to another level…”
Life at Central Baptist College:
Education:
Between training twice a day and attending classes in between, Bryce manages to juggle his commitments with a “…number of late nights…”. Coach reminds each athlete that they “…are students first and athletes second, academics must come first…”
With the real prospect of taking his soccer to the next level, Bryce understands that “…if you want to play, you have to work hard for it both on and off the field…”
Education has also been a priority of Bryce’s, he is a strong believer in “…if your soccer career falls through, at least you have a college degree to fall back on…”
Bryce states that studying at a smaller institution has assisted his academic performance, each class is set to hold on average 30 students. Being in a smaller class size allows for each student to become acquainted with their professor “…teachers and professors have a greater chance to pull you aside to provide you with feedback on areas that may need improvement…”
As a team, Bryce goes onto state that coach holds study halls for the whole team, every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday night to complete any homework for the week “Its great as we can bounce off each other with our homework, if someone is unsure of an answer, you can always bounce of someone in your class or something who has already done the class”
Facilities compared to Australia
The facilities at CBC far outweigh that of Australia according to Bryce. Not only does the team train twice a day, the training facilities are great, practice fields are second to none and the team itself has access to physiotherapists. Having access to these great facilities has not only contributed to Bryce’s vast game improvement, but has really drawn a conclusion to why the US provides such strong collegiate athletes.
Bryce shares that he has recently moved off campus in an effort to save some money; however, states that “…on campus life is great…there’s loads of friendly people and everyone becomes so close…”
College Highlight
“…every day, I think to myself that I’m living in America right now in college, I’m getting an education while I play a sport that I love. As cliché as it is, its everyday. I love being around my teammates and friends…”
It was great chatting to Bryce and his father Mick about his incredible success on the field. We look forward to catching up with Bryce in the near future!
