17 hours Ago By Katie Ringer
JAMESTOWN — Brady Harty is getting familiar with international air travel. Harty, a senior at Jamestown High School, was accepted to the Steven Gerrard Academy (SGA) in Liverpool, England, to play soccer. SGA is a soccer-focused program built to develop technical and athletic skills in aspiring players.
ADVERTISEMENT "I knew as soon as I got there that I was going to like the academy," Harty said. "The amount of soccer we played even with all the snow on the ground was amazing." Harty was overseas from January to March.
"(My first day) I was wondering if I would be able to play at that level and as the day went on I got more comfortable and it was better," Harty said. Harty broke the Blue Jay assists-in-a-season record this fall, recording 12. The previous school record for assists in a season was held by Colton Albohm, who recorded 11 in the fall of 1999.
Harty's point total for the season stood at 18 goals and 12 assists for 30 points. The Blue Jay senior started playing soccer when he was 2 years old. He started playing with a local club in Bismarck while his mother, Brandi, was the head coach of the Bismarck High School soccer team.
A few years later when the family moved to Velva, North Dakota, Brady transitioned to playing with a club in Minot. He's been playing soccer in Jamestown since the Hartys moved to the Buffalo City in 2014. Harty was a six-year varsity team member.
He was named to the All-WDA conference and NDHSAA All-State team three times. The senior has also been a selection for the Regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) ID Camp. Harty got connected to SGA through Bismarck High School head soccer coach Ricardo Pierre-Louis.
ADVERTISEMENT "The best part of the academy was getting to play every day all the time," Harty said. "The hardest part was staying on top of school work because the only downtime you get is at night." Harty said members of the academy would practice in the morning, have a gym or analysis session and then another training session.
On game days, Harty said all the team did was spend time on the pitch. "I was at an international academy so training was similar to here, but playing against English teams were different because they were very physical," Harty said. "I played two to three games a week over there and scored some goals as well.
My game improved a lot since I have been over there." When he wasn't on the field, Harty spent time watching others play. "The most fun I had outside of playing was going to the professional games because the atmosphere was unmatched," Harty said.
"I would tell (players in North Dakota) to go over because the level you will play with and against is higher, and the coaching level is higher also." Harty is back in North Dakota for the next few months but is going to board a plane back to England before the year is out. "I am going back to the academy for a gap year to decide where I want to go to college," Harty said.
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