Getting the opportunity to train with the best is a dream come true for any aspiring athlete. And this summer, it's happened to Quest University men's soccer goalkeeper Lucas Menz of North Vancouver.
Through the month of July, Menz has been honing his skills on the English football fields of Welling United in a golden opportunity that's thanks to Adam Day, head coach of the men's soccer program at Quest.
"The opportunity to train overseas came up through my brother [Jamie Day] who is a head coach for Welling United [a semi-professional team in England]," said Day. "Typically the way it works in England, a lot of the professional sides will have pre-season friendlies against the lower league sides and non-league sides."
Since Welling was missing a very important player to compete in these friendly matches, Adam got an idea.
"My brother's regular goalkeeper is away or unavailable for games for two weeks in the pre-season," Day said.
"So I just mentioned to him about Lucas, and how even for a young player he's got quite good experience - he's currently playing in the PDL [Premier Development League] leagues with Abbotsford and the PDL is basically the buffer between university and professional within the United States and Canada - so he's been playing at that level and doing very well at his first year at that level and he's done very well for us at Quest.
"We feel, we being myself and Michael Norris the goal keeping coach at Quest, that Lucas is definitely one that's got a future career in professional football if he gets rubber to green."
With that kind of reference, how could Welling turn Menz down?
"He'll be training with Welling United, and possibly getting some morning sessions with Charlton Athletic as well," said the Quest coach.
And it may just be the beginning of Menz's taste of the big league.
"There may also be a small chance of him going training with another professional side called Grimsby Town in northern England at the latter part of his trip."
Menz is set to return this week, bringing with him a wealth of experience both for Quest this season and his future career.
"I really enjoyed my time playing for Welling and I gained good experience on the trip," he wrote in his blog Life at Quest.
"I learned more about what it takes to play professional football and I think that I proved that I can play at the conference level."
He also said the more than 2,000 people showed up to watch during his last match allowed him to hone the PR side of professional sport.
"I got more experience playing in front of a crowd and I enjoyed interacting with the crowd," he wrote.
It may also prove Quest can produce top football players, said Day.
"For us to prove to the rest of the football world in the Lower Mainland at least that players can progress their playing careers once they've come into the Quest system [is very important]," said Day.
"So we're all kind of pulling together and hoping Lucas will do it and we think he's good enough and he's got the European passport which is a extra bonus for him."
For his part, Menz leaves the UK with improved skills and fond memories.
"The players at Welling were top class and treated me really well, all of them are nice lads. The coaching staff were fantastic as well. Thanks again to Jamie for letting me come in and get some time in the matches."
