Clearwarter Charger goalkeeper signs with South Florida Bulls

RIVER CLUB — Mike Mitchell knew he wanted to attend the University of South Florida from the moment he first set foot on the campus for a soccer camp three years ago.

And since then, the Braden River senior and Clearwater Chargers goalkeeper made it his No. 1 priority to attract the attention of the Bulls’ coaching staff.

Last week, Mitchell signed a national letter-of-intent to play soccer for USF. Mitchell had 38 different schools contact him over the past year, but his goal of playing for the Bulls never wavered.

“It’s always been USF,” Mitchell said. “They just got new facilities, and the goalkeeper coach is one of the best in the country.”

Mitchell, who has aspirations of becoming a physical therapist, started playing soccer when he was 11 years old, after looking to play another sport in addition to basketball.

He developed a passion for the sport, and it wasn’t long before Mitchell was training nearly every day.

“I like the pace,” Mitchell said. “You don’t take breaks. You go the full 90 minutes without stopping.”

Mitchell began playing youth soccer before spending his freshman and sophomore years training six days a week at IMG Academy. Mitchell left IMG last year after the team began training in the mornings and joined the Clearwater Chargers U18 Academy.

Today, Mitchell trains three days a week with the Chargers and spends the remainder of the week training with a goalkeeper coach.

In addition to playing in Clearwater, Mitchell also spent three weeks last summer doing a trial with Tottenhan Hotspur — a professional soccer club in London.

“It was incredible,” Mitchell said. “The way they go about it. It’s their livelihood. It wasn’t just a game. Also, just being around London and (seeing) how people knew me, even though I had never seen them. It was weird that they knew me.”

Mitchell plans to return to Germany and England this summer to train with different professional teams. Eventually, Mitchell has aspirations of playing professional soccer overseas.

“It’s just bigger,” Mitchell said of playing overseas. “It’s like American football here.”

But for now, Mitchell is focused on preparing for USF and the speed of the collegiate game while also training the area’s future goalkeepers. After training kids privately, Mitchell will begin working with the Braden River Soccer Club in March.

“I just like being able to give them what I got as a young kid — the basics and fundamentals to become a good (goalkeeper),” Mitchell said. “It’s a great game.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].