Jake Gibbons Intro

Hi my name is Jake Gibbons. I am leaving for Europe today on a Soccer Adventure. My goal is to play professional soccer in Europe. Even if I have to just grind out a living, I have always dreamed of playing over seas.

I was born in LaCrosse, WI and moved to Minneapolis on my first birthday. I am the oldest of 5 kids and we all play/played soccer at some point growing up. I grew up playing soccer in the back yard with my brothers, Dad and neighbor Sydney DeVictoria-Michael. My first organized soccer was at Fuller Park, playing co-ed with other 5-6 year olds. My Dad tells me that in my first game, I stood with my hands on my knees, “ready to go!” But I didn’t actually ever go after the ball…I just watched.

I eventually played traveling soccer with the Minneapolis United Arroz for a couple of years, before making a Bangu team. I was also involved in ODP for 6 years and was lucky enough to travel around the U.S. with my Bangu team for Regionals and playing college showcase tournaments. I played HS soccer at Minneapolis South and had fun playing with my twin brothers for a few years. I grew up watching MN Thunder games and some of my best memories are waiting after games to get player autographs.

I also played golf and a little hockey growing up but soccer has always been my passion. Most recently I played on the UofM club team, EC Aris FC and MN Twinstars (both in the NPSL) and some MASL men’s teams. I wanted to finish my BS before going on my soccer journey. I was playing indoor men’s league at Augsburg about 15 months ago, and a player on my Dad’s over 30 team mentioned that he (Michael Peterson) had connections in Denmark. After watching me play a few times he contacted his uncle who is with AGF AArhus and AGF Fremad to see if they would have any interest. I have to say a big thank you to Michael for all he’s done to help me get setup up for training and evaluation trials with AGF clubs.

I worked with some other contacts to get trials in Norway and Sweden as well. I will start out in Oslo, Norway, training and trying to show well for some 3^rd and 4^th division teams. A good friend and former UofM club player, Lars Stormo, lives in Oslo, Norway and plays for Oldenborg Idraetsselskab.

Thanks to Manny Lagos for letting me train with the MN Stars this winter/spring. I’ve been training, doing fitness and playing every day for months. I am excited, nervous and optimistic. I will mostly be blogging from a smart phone, and will do my best to post something on a regular basis.

Joga Bonito,

Jake