Steve Simonson’s Vancouver Island-based pipeline has led to yet another recruit for the UNBC Timberwolves men’s soccer team.
Today (Tuesday), forward Ibrahim Ezletni committed to the program.
“This is a good moment for me. This is the next step in my career, and I have been looking forward to this day for the last couple months. Steve (Simonson) has a lot of trust in his players and gives his players the confidence they need to succeed. This is a very soccer-oriented environment with a lot of training. Every day there is training. Not many universities have training every day, so that’s pretty good.”
A six-foot-two attacking player, Ezletni won 2021 and 2022 BC School Provincial Championships with Reynolds Secondary, serving as team captain last year.
A product of Tripoli, Libya, Ezletni and his family made their way to Victoria permanently in 2012.
Simonson has known of the 18-year-old’s immense skill and vast potential for a number of years, keeping an eye on his development.
“I am really thrilled to welcome Ibrahim to our program. Ibrahim is a very high-potential player. I feel his style of play will fit with our philosophy very well and anticipate bright things from this young man on the field. As a person, he is outstanding and will be a great addition to our program, our culture, and the UNBC community. Today is a good day.”
A product of the Vancouver Island Wave program, Ezletni’s path to the green and gold is well charted.
UNBC veterans like Michael Henman and Cody Gysbers are first-hand examples of the pipeline, while Ezletni joins fellow islanders Koss Nystedt, Isaac Tate, Theo Tate, Wyatt Lyon, Logan Pierce, and Zack Sidhu in the 2023 T-Wolves recruiting class.
Ezletni will graduate from Reynolds in June and enroll in UNBC’s sciences program, before joining his new teammates for training camp in Prince George in July.
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