With the FIFA Women's World Cup making waves in New Zealand, we speak to a Bedean who knows firsthand about the highs and lows of following your dreams within the realms of the beautiful game.

Ben Stroud was coming into his senior year at St Bede's College when opportunity came calling. As you are about to hear directly from Ben, seizing the moment and making the most of life's opportunities have played a big part in his journey so far...     

At the beginning of 2015 I was at Marist Youth Leaders (the programme St Bede's sends newly elected prefects on in February before school starts) with the prefect team at Hato Pāora College when I got a call from home and it was an opportunity to join the Wellington Phoenix Football Academy. I made the move up North and spent my year 13 at Scots College while playing and training full-time. Being in that environment with the coaches and players really helped me to progress in my development as a footballer. The exposure gave me opportunities to represent NZ at the U17 level and expanded opportunities overseas. I was actively looking at opportunities down the US College pathway as I had the understanding it would be an incredible opportunity to develop and grow further as an athlete and also as a student and further my education.

I ended up committing to Missouri State University and spent four years in the Mid-West. The journey through college was full of highs and lows, it was a time that really helped me grow as an individual and understand a lot more about who I am. I gained a Bachelor of Science in Communication and on the field had an incredible senior season where we were undefeated in the regular season with an overall record of 18-1-1. Made history with the program and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

2019, my senior season at Missouri State, was an incredible year. Last year of four and with some of my best mates, breaking all kinds of school records, scoring a few goals, and going to the national tournament was a highlight. I think it is all in the process where the memories are instead of the final product, those moments that create the highlights are what is valuable.

These are just a few of the things that came from this period of my life. It has brought me on a journey where I moved back home during Covid which was a blessing as I got to spend six months with my family. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with in four years. I kept pursuing football moving to Auckland then Wellington and then at the beginning of 2022 received a message from my coach that there was an opportunity in Finland, if I could be there for a trial in six days. Big decision, quick action and it has led me to play semi-pro football for a club called FC Jazz which is where I am currently in my second season. My journey through highs and lows and the reality of what sports is has led me to start my own podcast around high performance, mental health, and people's stories called In The Arena which I’m also really enjoying alongside playing full time.

I was very lucky during my time at St Bede’s because I had a very good group of mates around me who were extremely supportive of having aspirations in sports and pursuing excellence. It was a combination of them and my parents where we knew that to achieve great things it meant opportunities would be elsewhere. Initially with the idea of American College but then the opportunity to head up to Wellington, that prefect group of 2015 were all extremely supportive and I will never forget the Haka they sent me off with. One of the lads still inspires me to this day - it’ll be no surprise but Lachie Bartlett, still one of my very close friends and a great man. Lachie and keep in touch even though on completely different sides of the world, and during our time at Bede’s he was a guy I looked up to and inspired me to be my best in all areas of life.

Leaving school I wanted to pursue football, which was always the main thing on my mind. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to study, but the nice thing about the American system is that you don’t have to choose straight away. I had different thoughts about if it wasn’t football to go into the Police or something where teamwork, communication, and serving are all important factors. I believe everything happens for a reason and the people you meet along the way of your journey play massive roles in your life too. I have had a mixture of injuries and setbacks, as well as incredible opportunities to travel the world and meet amazing people, so it's a culmination of things that have brought me to where I am.

I think that the best advice for pursuing any career path would be to surround yourself with people who have the habits, practices, and actions that you want to demonstrate. That way you will speed up the process. If you are looking into the American college opportunity, do your research and look at agencies that can help you. It is a much bigger process than you think. The last piece of advice and the best thing a coach once said to me, is that you have no ceiling. There is no limit on what you can achieve so have faith in yourself and have faith that God has a plan for you and the timing will work out.