Karl Swan’s Irish Roots Still Alive in Him Today
Growing up in Ireland, Karl Swan has fond memories of life overseas. A senior midfielder out of Clearwater, Fla., Swan spent the first seven years of his life in Portmarnock, Ireland where he was born. The common denominator between life in Florida and life in Ireland has been and always will be soccer.
Soccer has always been in Swan's blood. His Uncle played for Manchester United. As a child in Ireland, Swan came to fall in love with the English Football Club, Liverpool. He worshiped them since he was a kid. He came to love Liverpool through his father Frank Swan, an ex pro, who taught Karl everything he knows about soccer. Swan had a chance to take a tour of Anfield where Liverpool plays, while he was visiting his sister in Ireland.
Swan lives by Liverpool's signature line "You'll never walk alone". In high school Swan wore a jersey of his favorite player, Steven Gerrard, underneath his High School jersey. To this day, Swan still wears a Liverpool armband while he plays for the Spartans.
Swan misses life in Ireland. "Everything is so different over there. The culture, the people, the food. I miss it, I really do." Swan says he especially misses Irish breakfast and hates eating breakfast here. He also loves the Irish fish and chips.
Swan's parents were planning on moving to the United States for a long time. Finally, it was all made possible when Karl Swan and his family hit the lottery to receive a visa and come to the United States where they settled in Clearwater, FL. He has many relatives still living in Ireland that communicates with regularly.
When he was 15, Swan tried out for the Irish National Team. He hopes to play after graduation but has a backup plan. "Its very scary knowing you may never have another game. The culmination of 20 years of playing the same game is eye opening. I don't know when my last competitive touch on the ball will be. Of course I'd like to go pro but only a select few actually make it." Swan plans to try out for Real Salt Lake or even FC Tampa Bay when he graduates but if he doesn't make it he wants to go back to Ireland.
At Countryside high school Swan succeeded and loved every minute. His Sophomore year his team won the division 6A State Title, the best division in the state of Florida. Soccer isn't the only thing Swan plays, he also enjoys playing golf and tennis when he has free time from soccer.
In addition, Swan is an accounting major at UT. He is ahead of the game by interning at the Accounting firm Rivero Gordimer and Company all summer. "I really enjoyed working at the accounting firm this summer. I still work there and can see myself possibly working at a place like that after I graduate. It was a great experience."
When Swan has time off from his tough workload of school and soccer he enjoys several TV shows: Entourage, Family Guy, The Office, and Friday Night Lights. He also enjoys watching Football and playing Fantasy Football with friends.
As a senior captain for the Spartans, Karl Swan leads by example. Going all the way back to his freshman season, Swan was the only freshman starter when the Spartans came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Tusculum in double overtime in the elite eight. The exhausting game just so happen to fall on Swan's 19th birthday. In his last season of college soccer Swan wants to go out on top. He is optimistic for the remainder of the season and excited for conference play to open up. The Spartans open up conference play on Tuesday at Rollins.
Written by Alexa DellaRocco