One year ago, Cory Burke was on his way to a training session in his home country of Jamaica. He was a striker for Rivoli United of that nation’s top division Red Stripe League. He was just another soccer player with a dream, but Burke’s life changed with one simple phone call from his head coach.
“He told me that I had been offered a tryout in the United States,” Burke said. “He didn’t tell me where but I didn’t care because I knew it was a special opportunity for me.”
A few weeks later, Burke found himself training with Bethlehem Steel FC and immediately the Jamaican forward had to deal with a lot of issues, all at once: the climate, new teammates and higher-paced training sessions.