Freshman footballer Jade Bell kicks Lions soccer to new level

Despite being the birthplace of soccer and having one of the most famous leagues in the world within its borders, the United Kingdom has managed to fall behind in the women's aspect of the sport. That is where the United States takes a lead role, and this knowledge helped convince freshman Jade Bell to hop across the pond and become an A&M-Commerce Lion.

"I've always wanted to come out to America, because the women don't have professional leagues in England," she said. "It's not a massive thing over there. Our college football just isn't as big, university football just isn't as big; it's just so much more known over here and the support is so much better."

Bell grew up in Ramsey, a market town in the county of Cambridgeshire about two hours north of London. She started playing at a very young age and knew quickly that "football" [soccer] was something she wanted to keep as part of her life.

"It was my brother, actually; he's 21 now, a few years older than me," Bell said about how she began playing. "He used to play for our local club team, so I used to go along to training with him. Eventually when I got old enough, about the age of six, my own age team were like ‘come and play, come and join in with us.' So, that's what I've done and ever since then, I've just been playing football all my life."

She went on to play through the age groups and into women's soccer in England, but with the lack of opportunities in the sport in her homeland, Bell felt America was the best choice for her to continue playing and broaden her horizons.

"I was happy to go anywhere, to be honest," she said. "I just wanted to come out here, have the experience and have the opportunity. One of my coaches back in England knew someone in Austin College (located in Sherman, Texas), and they recommended this one to us. I got in contact with Neil [Piper], and it just went from there, really."

Her arrival in Commerce marked the first time Bell had ever been to the United States, and while she may have had some "culture shock," her new home is not as foreign as would normally be the case.

"I had been told this place was a small town and there was nothing here, but I lived in a small town in England so it kind of suits me," she said. "Still, everything seems so much bigger: space, buildings, the road, trucks, the food."

Bell also had to deal with an unusually hot summer, even for Texas, when she began preseason training with the rest of the Lions squad.

"I think I was expecting it to be worse than what it was," she said. "It was still really, really hot. And now that it's getting cooler, it's starting to feel cold to me. Going back to England, I'm pretty scared."

Foreigners coming to United States to play soccer, especially in college, are sometimes faced with heightened expectations based on their origins. Bell said this has not been the case and she feels the team has brought her in like any other player.

"It was obviously different from them to see somebody from across the seas and all that, but they adapted well and got to know me as if I was always there and one of them," Bell said. "They didn't expect anything more of me because I was from England, but expected me to be good and want to be here."

Actually, Bell has found more ways to enjoy the sport she loves since coming to play for A&M-Commerce in Head Coach Neil Piper's new-look Lions team.

"In my club team, they didn't play at the highest level," she said. "We played some good football at times, but the majority was long ball and run onto it. So to come here and actually play football and pass it, it's so good. I really enjoy it and it makes me happy. Rather than just chasing balls all day, just to get it down and play it, it's really good."

Another thing Bell said she has discovered in the U.S. is a new value for education. Now she says getting a degree has become of equal importance to progressing in soccer.

"I loved my education in England, but I didn't see myself going to university in England at all," she said. "I was happy to just get a job, play football and just do that. Now that I'm here, I want to get a degree and do well in my education as well as football."

Bell remains undecided on a major, but a college degree is something she wants to obtain. After that, a look toward professional women's soccer is not completely out of the question.

"If something comes about at the end of my four years, then definitely," she said. "I would love to do that, I really would. I've always just wanted to play at the top level and play as high as I can. My education will obviously come with it, but football is my main point, I think."