“Starting with the process one year before going to the USA is the perfect time,” says Johan Feilscher. The 6’1” forward was born in Bad Bramstedt, Germany. A smaller town close to the metropolis Hamburg. After his first semester at Concordia College, Johan has only good things to say about his college soccer experience in the USA. “I never regretted it! And I don’t think I will in the next four years.”
The campus of Concordia College is in Bronxville, New York. A neighborly and friendly town that reminds Johan a lot of his hometown near Hamburg. Just like back home, a short train ride brings him right to the center of a beautiful metropolis. “You can get onto the doxee alto train and be at Grand Central (New York) within 30 minutes. The location could not be better.”
Johan played for FC Eintracht Norderstedt in the U19 Regionalliga, the highest level in German U19 soccer. In 2018, a friend who studied and played in Oklahoma told him about the soccer scholarship opportunity in the USA. “He told me that it’s a great alternative to playing soccer in Germany if you’re not turning pro while studying.” Johan quickly decided to start the recruiting process with Athletes USA one year before graduating from high school. In 2019, Johan’s college soccer experience began at Concordia College in New York.
How does an injury influence the College Soccer Experience?
“We started pretty good into our season. Unfortunately, we lost against Wilmington University in the first playoff game.” The Concordia Clippers kicked off the 2019 season with an impressive 6-2 record. As a freshman, Johan started the first four games and scored two goals. An injury after game four kept Johan from competing in the remaining 14 games of the season. Only two shorter appearances were possible. Nevertheless, he has only good things to say about his first four months of college soccer experience in the USA.
One of the main reasons is that he did not have to worry about his soccer scholarship for the following years, despite an early season-ending injury. The coach cannot take away a scholarship because of an injury. On the contrary, since the injury happened after Johan had played only four games, he received a ‘redshirt’ for his freshman year. A redshirt in college athletics is a delay of an athlete’s participation to lengthen their eligibility period. Thus, Johan still had another four years of eligibility after completing his first year academically to compete and study in the USA.
The College Soccer Experience at Concordia College
“The overall size of the campus is small compared to other colleges, and the number of students is also pretty small (1,500). But it’s amazing because it’s pretty small, and everybody knows each other,” says the International Business major about his college.
Johan confirmed his satisfaction with his college soccer experience during his second season in 2020/21. The Concordia Clippers won 7 out of 8 games (7-1 record) and crowned their historic season with the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship for the first time in program history. Johan scored four goals and added fours assists in only eight games, leading the team with 12 points. The team achieved its highest national ranking on record, ending the year as the 11th-ranked team in the country (United Soccer Coaches final NCAA Division II Rankings).
Transferring from NCAA D2 to NCAA D1
The established college soccer player left his mark on the Concordia College history books. Concordia also left a positive influence and a great college soccer experience in the life and development of Johan. Due to his performances, and with the help of Athletes USA, Johan transferred to Merrimack University in the NCAA D1 for the 2021/22 season.
Are you ready to leave your mark on college soccer in the USA? Are you ready for your own college soccer experience? Just fill out this short form to receive a free evaluation of your chances, or send us a message.
—————————————
Free evaluation of your chances > athletesusa.org/apply
Johan Feilscher Profile > https://athletesusa.org/user/johan-feilscher/
[simple-author-box]
