Mike Warn has logged plenty of kilometres to develop into an elite goalkeeper. Now that commitment is taking him to South Carolina this fall.
The Grade 12 Delta secondary student has accepted a scholarship offer to play for the Francis Marion University's varsity men's soccer team.
The campus is located just east of Florence SC, and the Patriots are part of the 13-team NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference.
The school has hinted of a move to the NCAA Division I level within a couple of years.
Warn will be the first Canadian on a Patriots roster that is loaded with foreign talent. Their 2012 line-up included players from Germany, Norway, England, Scotland, Columbia and Brazil. The team is coming off 5-9-2 season.
Warn grew up in the Ladner Boys Soccer Club and was part of a successful and talented group coached by Terry James and Pete Findlay.
To take his game to a higher level, he had to go elsewhere. Warn has spent the past two seasons in the fledgling B.C. Premier Soccer League (high performance league) and currently plays for South Surrey-based Coastal F.C.
Warn thanks all his coaches for his development to date, including Coastal head coach Jack Reddy and the club's goalkeeper coach Pedro DeNobriga.
He will begin his freshman season in late August.
