Harrison Burgess – Sucess story
BURGESS FLYING HIGH IN AMERICA
See below about one of the boys that I have worked with in his younger years and also when he is in Perth.
Great kid to work with!
Goalkeeper Harrison Burgess rates his recent season in the American college system with Mount Mercy University as the best of his young career. Mount Mercy ended the Midwest Collegiate Conference in second place, losing just once in the home and away series, with Burgess’ efforts between the posts recognised with selection in the competitions’ all-stars team. “I feel I played some of the best and most consistent football of my career,” Burgess commented. “We narrowly missed out on going to the nationals, losing to Grandview in the final, and I was one of four players from Mount Mercy to be awarded All-Conference honours, which was really cool.”
Burgess, a former youth team player at Perth SC and Cockburn City, says there is no doubt his experiences over the last three years in Iowa have made him a better footballer. “I’ve developed into a much better player. Having to fight for my position has pushed me to be a much more well-rounded player, has forced me to work a lot more on my weaknesses while also still maintaining my strengths,” Burgess, 20, said. “The season runs from late August through to mid-November but still we play around 25 games, which is pretty intense. Whenever I’m back in Perth I train with Dave Whalley, and he is always making sure I’m not getting into any bad habits.”
While rightly thrilled with recent achievements, Burgess says not everything has gone according to plan since moving to the United States in 2010. “It has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me football-wise,” explained Burgess, who endured a couple of trying seasons with Iowa Central University. “I didn’t play much in my first season, which was a little disappointing. I had an injury-plagued first few weeks and was competing with four other ‘keepers, so I found it tough to come back and earn my playing position. My second season started out very similarly to the first, but I managed to turn that around by the end of the season by starting a few games.”
Burgess, who was raised in Perth’s southern suburbs, is enjoying the lifestyle offered by America’s Midwest while studying towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. “Iowa is very different to Australia, a lot of the state revolves around the corn industry. It’s pretty nice and the people are very welcoming and friendly, especially when they start hearing my accent,” Burgess joked. “But I do miss Perth, especially my family and friends. The 14-hour time difference makes it very tough to keep in touch with everyone, even with things like Skype and Facebook.”
The coming twelve months are shaping up to be a busy period for Burgess. “This summer – winter in Perth – I’m hoping to play for a Professional Development League team, at the moment I’m looking at one club in Vermont and another in Kentucky. After that I’ll go straight back in to the Collegiate season and plan to go to the nationals for my senior year,” said Burgess, who is a little unsure when he’ll return to Perth. “I’ll have to come back once I graduate because my visa will expire, but who knows, I like here so I might end up staying for a while if I can get an extension on my visa.”
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