I grew up in Ottawa, Canada, playing club soccer and attending soccer camp as much as possible. My father was always in a coaching role throughout my youth development.
My dad was a huge help in my development as a player and I remember watching his Dutch Football Training VHS tapes in the basement of my house as he lead me in drills like dribbling a tennis ball through cones. (Though this isn't what my dad taught me, here's some funny freestyle vids I took in that same basement where I learned so much) The hard work paid off, because I earned 20+ pieces of silverware from leagues and tournaments in my youth career (a 7 year span!). When I was 15, I earned an invitation to Nacional AC, a professional club in Sao Paulo, Brazil (The club that Deco came from!). This scouting trip lead to a trial offer for 2008, as I played and trained with the U-17 program in the CDM position or as they would call it “volante” which literally means steering wheel. In Brazil I was able to play against a bunch of great clubs like Santos, Cruzeiro, Palmeiras (futsal) and Corinthians, as well as gained a lot of valuable insights in football tactics, fitness, and the famous Brazilian “ginga”. Though my trial period was extended quite a bit, in the end, I wasn’t offered a contract. So I returned home to finish high school on time and receive my diploma with my graduating class. I joined the U-17 Elite program at Ottawa Fury where I lead the team as captain and Center Midfielder in national tournament, the USL Super-Y League Finals in Florida. I earned the MVP Award for the team (Leading in total goals/assists) and was selected as the top 2% of players of the USL Super-Y League. With that honour, I received an invitation to the USL Olympic Development Program, and earned a spot on the Ottawa Fury Men’s team in the USL Premier Development League in 2010. (Here are some clips from High School + Fury) I then secured a full athletic scholarship to Holy Cross, Indiana, where I played as a CDM for a year before transferring to a university program and soccer program much more suited to my needs. In between the transfers I went back to Brazil briefly and trained at Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. For the next three years I attended Bethel College, and played as a CM and RB while ranking in the top 25 teams in the NAIA, leading as captain during Sr. year & National Tournament. I received school, conference, and national awards such as, Team Servant Leadership, NAIA All-American Scholar-Athlete, 2012, NCCAA All-American Scholar-Athlete, 2012-2014, and Crossroads League Academic All-Conference, 2012-2013. I graduated with an honours degree in Kinesiology; Exercise Science. (Some Clips from my Bethel Years, Here + Here + Here) After graduating I learned that I wanted to pursue a professional career once more, while using the valuable knowledge I learned from university. I was invited to Germany to play at Darmstadt in the Verbandesliga and with this opportunity I was able to play against the first division (Bundesliga) club Eintracht Frankfurt, which was a great milestone in my career. After trailing with various clubs in higher leagues, I landed a spot on the 2015 squad of Viktoria Kelsterbach and lived in Frankfurt as we finished the season at the top of the table. With that said, my aims for my soccer career have shifted and I’ve signed with Olympia FC of Hobart, Australia. I’m super excited to see how my journey unfolds in the future and I’m focussed on playing my role as well as possible on the team and bringing some more silverware to the club. Let's do this. -z
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Zak DrakeI love helping players optimize their soccer careers + lives through actualizing their potential. Categories
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