Sabrina Toole:”I’ve always wanted to play professionally overseas and SMI was the perfect solution”

Sabrina Toole has been playing soccer since she was three and has not stopped since. She has been a key defensive player at UConn for 4 years and eventually she became the captain of the team. Being part of such a successful program in Division 1 is a great start for whoever wants to pursue a professional soccer career and that is exactly the path Sabrina is trying to follow:“I’ve always wanted to play professionally overseas and if I had to pick my dream location it would be Italy. But I also felt I wasn’t fully ready to jump into such a drastically different culture with an entirely new language, so SMI was the perfect solution. It allows me a smoother transition, a way to make important connections, and an opportunity to further my education while honing my soccer skills.“

The chance to play professionally in a beautiful country like Italy is huge but that is not the only perk about attending SMI. A master’s degree combined with the possibility to play soccer at high level provide a unique opportunity while living a life-changing experience. In fact, being in an extraordinary city such as Florence will have an extraordinary impact on the student-athletes’ day-to-day life.

Being surrounded every day by history, art, and gorgeousness it is priceless and everyone attending SMI wants to take full advantage of it.  “Besides playing soccer, I am very excited about traveling. My brother lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children so I’m very excited to be able to see them more often. Of course I can’t forget to mention the food as well. I love Italian food and everyone who has been to Italy keeps telling me that I’ll never be able to eat American-Italian food again. I want to see as much of Italy as possible. Since I graduated, I think I’ve received about a dozen self-guided Italy tour books since, so I’m planning on utilizing those. I also am going to try and visit my friends who are living in other European countries.”

Moving to Italy was a dream for Sabrina and now she is realizing it thanks to her devotion to soccer. Her family and friends are just as much excited as her an they can’t wait to visit her in the peninsula:“My parents and grandparents are coming in October, my two sisters are coming the week of Thanksgiving, and my brother in Switzerland is really hoping to make a couples games. A lot of close friends are trying to make there way over too. I think the most common response I get when I say I’m playing soccer in Italy is “Can I come visit?”.