Lasagne loving Tim Hopkinson is showing that he still has a healthy appetite for football at Old Dominion University on the east coast of America.
Named National Player of the Week and the CAA Player of the Week already this season as well as the Most Valuable Player at the STIHL Soccer Classic Tournament the former Nottingham Forest forward is making waves on the college soccer circuit.
Yet despite his individual success he is only interested in earning collective plaudits, a vision that ultimately persuaded him to move to the other side of the Atlantic.
“Coach (Alan) Dawson made me feel very welcome when I spoke to him,” said Hopkinson. “I had a few options but he told me out here your team-mates are like a family, they are like brothers everyone looks out for each other and that sold the place to me.”
“I’ve got great team-mates around me and I’m just putting the ball in the net after everyone else has done the hard-work. As long as the team wins that’s all I’m bothered about, individual accolades are nice but it’s a team game.”
Nottingham lad Hopkinson, who often has to make reference to English folklore and Robin Hood just to explain where he is from, admits that life in the States is completely different than back home.
It’s the best choice I’ve ever made (coming to Old Dominion) and I haven’t looked back,” said Hopkinson. “When I’m off the pitch I enjoy studying, hanging out with my friends because thinking about football all the time isn’t healthy. It’s important to me to find the right balance between the two.”
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