Northeast Texas Community College Eagles Soccer player Rimario Gordon will compete in the Premier Development League (PDL) this summer. The PDL is run by the United Soccer League (USL) and is the highest level of amateur soccer in the United States. This will be the first time that a NTCC Student has been invited to compete in a professional development league.
The PDL is a highly competitive program with international reach which is designed to prepare students for professional soccer careers. The league has 64 teams competing in ten divisions across four conferences. Gordon will play for the Houston Dutch Lions and their first game is scheduled for May10. The season will continue through the end of July.
Gordon has already had an exceptional start in the league, having scored all three of the team's goals during its first exhibition game against the San Antonio Corinthians. Thirteen minutes into the game Rimario scored his first goal. Fifteen minutes later he had managed a hat-trick for the Lions, scoring all of the team?s goals in a 3-1 victory.
Gordon came to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica at the age of 15 and moved to Houston with his father. He lived in an impoverished area before coming to the United States.
?I am from the ghetto area where kids play football (soccer) barefooted and you get your skills started there. My dad brought me to Houston and I began to play football in Elsik High School.?
Gordon then went on to Texas Rush development program where Eagles Soccer Coach Donovan Dowling found him.
?The PDL has very, very high standards, it is a mix of the top players in collegiate soccer who come together to compete. It is a really cool opportunity for him to be able to represent the college and compete at that level.? Dowling said.
Gordon sets high goals for himself and he has high dreams and hopes for the future, a fact that shines through when he speaks.
?Hopefully, the Rimario name can be on TV and people who know me now will say ?I know that kid, I know all of the hard work he put in to get there'.?
Hard work is a constant theme for the Jamaican football player both on and off the field, Gordon is optimistic about this summer, but he recognizes that it is his work ethic and tenacity that have earned him this invitation.
?It?s not luck, it?s hard work and dedication and skill. When it comes to a pro tryout, no one is going to go through that pain with you, only you yourself is going to go through that pain? Gordon said.
Story and Photo by: Christopher Hamilton, NTCC Eagle Newspaper Staff
