GREENWOOD, Ind. - From Italy, to Florida, West Virginia, to Canada and again overseas in Europe – James Pucci is ready to go pro.
A journey marked with achievement, adversity and relentless pursuit, pens a new chapter in the story of Pucci, who graced the Great Midwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer landscape with his talents for two years at Davis & Elkins College.
And finally, the dream is surreal while reality has pretty much sunk in after filling out the official paperwork last Wednesday.
Per club regulations, information on Pucci’s team/league cannot be released until closer to the preseason.
Additional information can be publicized closer to the preseason around March 1. SoccerViza, a scouting agency that connects players and coaches, helped Pucci connect with his first professional deal.
Pucci was four years old with eventual hopes of playing professional one day. He moved from Italy when he was 18 and started his collegiate career at Nova Southeastern in Florida before transferring to Davis & Elkins.
He took the G-MAC and the country by storm with All-American status following his NCAA-best 27 goals and 11 assists in 2013. With two outstanding years in the G-MAC, Pucci’s numbers had him surfacing on the radar of the pool of prospects before the Major 2014 League Soccer (MLS) Draft, only to endure a setback with a sprained MCL.
Pucci drew heavy interest from the Real Salt Lake franchise and by all accounts, wanted to draft him in the third round. But RSL called on the day of the MLS combine on television and questioned him about the status of his MCL.
Pucci was honest – and confessed he might need another month of rehab, but RLS responded with a polite thank you and a best of luck in the future.
“It was like the world fell down on me,” he said after the phone call. “But the one thing I never believed was that I wasn’t good enough to play professionally, so I never stopped playing.”
Pucci, a 5-7 playmaking striker who turns 25 on Feb. 16, will be ticketed to another foreign country with a fresh start for the preseason beginning March 1. His new regular season is set to run from May 15 through Sept. 30.
Pucci honed his skills the past two years in the Premier Development League (PDL) with Forest City (FC) London in Ontario. His first year with FC London in the summer of 2014 featured 10 goals in just 13 games – tied for the team lead and fourth in his conference.
The PDL featured 65 teams in four conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada in 2015. The season consists of 14 regular season contests and provides elite college players the opportunity to taste a higher level of competition while maintaining their eligibility.
Pucci also played in the PDL in Charleston, W.V., with former Alderson Broaddus standout Jose Noriega. Together, they worked to finish second in their conference.
“I talk to him to every day – even if he’s a Battler,” he mused over his former friendly rival. “He’s always going to be my best friend.”
“But the PDL is a great atmosphere and a great place for college student-athletes to get viewed,” he added. “
This past season with FC London saw him score seven goals, second on the club, while he paced his team with five assists.
Another G-MAC connection, Kentucky Wesleyan alum Christakis Agisilaou, has also kept in touch with Pucci periodically. Agisilaou’s professional career took flight in Greece and advanced with a new 2015 contract in Sweden.
“He {Christakis} said life is good as a professional player,” Pucci said. "No matter if you’re in Madrid or the lowest league, people respect you and it’s a real soccer life. All you have to do is wake up, eat, play soccer, play soccer, play soccer and go to sleep.”
Pucci is restless on game day. Once practice is over, the tensions start. If the game is a morning game, he won’t eat. He sleeps maybe 2-3 hours before every game. His mental mindset immediately shifts to the game.
He describes himself as a very passionate player with comes with pluses and minuses. Laziness is something in the past and stamina is an area he’s targeting for improvement, but is confident in skills like shooting, vision and passing. Even at 5-7, Pucci wins headers routinely against 6-2 defenders.
His new opportunity overseas opens to the door to a wealth of opportunities. The club could offer him an extension or he could land another deal from a different team in a different country.
Either way, he recognizes what’s on the line.
“There are no excuses right now,” Pucci succinctly said. “It’s you and yourself. You have to take care of yourself and your body and play soccer.”
In his free time, Pucci coaches Marconi Soccer in London, a national champion program from an amateur U-16 league in Ontario. He will be working on getting in shape and going back to Italy to visit family for the first time in three years before reporting to camp.
Pucci already has idea for what his new role will be. He mentioned his new coach wants to play strictly possession style and with 11 players on the current roster, Pucci will be the first one the coach has brought in to fit his new system.
“I know the sensation someone has after trying for so long for so many years and now I finally made it,” he said. “There’s nothing better than that feeling right now.”