Charlie Swann, of London, England, has been dominating the New England Collegiate Conference. Swann has scored eight goals and wowed with his footwork, but who is Charlie Swann? The junior opens up about his journey across the world, how he enjoyed playing junior college ball with his current teammate and captain Leon Zaffonato and his experience at Eastern Nazarene College so far.
Swann’s journey to collegiate soccer is unconventional. The England native first went to California for a new and better opportunity in coaching soccer, not playing it. In 2014 he helped a soccer company in California all the way up to the Oregon border. What he did was move camp to camp teaching soccer players of all ages to improve their skills on the field. After doing this for years, he wanted to further his education and see what the east coast had to offer.
He had an offer to attend the University of London but he wanted a better opportunity in the states. Swann went from California to London and then finally Massachusetts to attend college. He ended up attending Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Massachusetts in the fall of 2017. His game plan was to get his Associates Degree in Finance then eventually transfer to a four year school to get a Bachelor’s Degree. He describes the move from location to location with, “the weather change was different, having all four seasons was different, but no problems […] with all the people here.”
ENC Men’s Soccer Captain Leon Zaffonato and Swann played together at Massasoit and they would describe their experiences there in one word: “challenging.” Zaffonato, a Brazilian native, didn’t speak English well, so the transition was difficult at first. On and off the field, Swann helped teach Zaffonato English, and this started building the chemistry they have today. Swann says of Zaffonato, “we don’t jump only see each other on the field, off the field we hang out, we have the same goals and objectives, our mindset is one of the same.” Swann described Zaffonato as a very “skillful” player to the soccer team and is a great asset. Zaffonato described Swann as “cold,” meaning he doesn’t get distracted from anything and is always calm in any situation.
In the fall of 2019 Swann is leading his team and most of the league in goals. His unbelievable goal-scoring ability is about to make ENC a playoff contender for the first time in years. A contributing factor is Zaffonato, as a former teammate from Massasoit and now current teammate at ENC. When asked how it feels having Swann on the team, he said, “I enjoy it, it’s a lot of fun, we played at Massasoit together so we know how each other play and where we are at all times.” Going into year three together, the chemistry doesn’t lack between them, but a hurdle was getting the other guys on the same page that they are.
Swann’s road to ENC has been a great one based on the numbers this year. The men’s soccer team is 6-1-0 so far and has their eyes on a championship, with nationals being the biggest prize.