Humans of NGU: From Casablanca to Tigerville, Reda Ikarrain
Kalvin Semedo, Contributing Writer
Little Reda Ikarrain, 6 years old, started his soccer career in his hometown of Casablanca and was far from imagining that almost 18 years later he would be playing in America for North Greenville University’s soccer team.
After years of playing soccer, Reda’s passion for the game has not waned and his ambitions have only grown with time. After spending his entire life in North Africa, in Morocco, Reda began to see further. His desire to play in another continent and another country became an obsession “I could have gone to Europe and tried to play in France, but unlike my colleagues, it is America that attracts me”. Morocco is very connected to Europe and in general many Moroccans end up in France or Spain, unlike others, it is in the United States that Reda decided to fly.
Arrived in the United States in 2020 at another university to continue his athletic and academic career, Reda no longer liked it and wanted a change. At large, the process of changing universities is done through agents and specialized agencies that help foreign players find their universities. After knowing the ropes and doing some research, Reda decided to start the process of changing schools and teams on his own.
For him, changing colleges was not that difficult, he says, “Easy, a piece of cake. I went to the conference websites, collected emails, and started contacting several coaches. Reda was confident in his soccer skills and had good video highlights. He admits that the process took time but in the end the effort paid off as he got responses from the coaches, he contacted but it was North Greenville University that he chose.
Reda wanted to take a step forward and be in a good environment that would benefit him to be a better soccer player but also a better man. He immediately had a good feeling about North Greenville and has no regrets about his choice. “I love the way my teammate welcomed me to the team” said Ikarrain. For him it is a new challenge, and he expects a lot from him because he aspires to become a professional soccer player as soon as possible and to graduate in 2023.
The promising Ikarrain is a sport management major and is getting ready to celebrate his 24th birthday next month. He started his season with the university soccer team and is off to a great start as he has already scored 2 goals and started every game so far.
At almost 24 years old, Reda Ikarrain proves that it is never too late to realize your dreams and that no matter where you come from, the important thing is to know where you want to go and pursue your goals.
