Texas Rush alumni kickin' it abroad

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Katie MacDonald, a former Texas Rush Soccer Club player, is now pursuing further education opportunities at Edinburgh University, Scotland.

We spoke to Katie and her coach about the experience of studying abroad and playing ‘football.'

Michael Ross, Edinburgh WAFC Coach

“Edinburgh University are the number 1 ranked soccer University in Scotland and 6th in the UK. As a club we are always looking to improve the quality of player every year. This year we have both our 1st and 2nd team in Division 1 after our 2nd team won promotion last season. The 1st team are current Scottish League and Cup Champions and have managed to maintain several players from last season which has helped us to push on further.

In September we welcomed many new players into the club and we are delighted that Katie was interested to be involved. From the 1st practice you could see the enthusiasm and positive attitude Katie brought to the team and in a short space of time the coaches have already seen improvements in her game. We are thankful for the coaches at Texas Rush for helping her develop and we are hopeful over the next 4 years Katie will progress further and represent the 1st on a regular basis. The University has 3 teams and the current 1st team includes players involved with Scotland u19 to competition to play in the match day 16 can be tough. Many 1st year players begin in the 2nd team to gain experience and confidence and making sure they get adequate game time which is crucial. We value Katie as a player and felt this was best for her right now but I believe if she keeps working hard in practice and having positive performances in matches it’s only a matter of time before she steps up.

We have had visiting teams play in Edinburgh before and would always welcome any players who want to study and play soccer in Scotland to check out www.euwafc.com and we would love to tour the USA one day if the opportunity arose.”