To compete at the highest levels of the world’s most popular sport, a young athlete must overcome many obstacles and sacrifice certain comforts in life. Academics also provides struggles of its own, and demands a great deal of focus and consistency in order to succeed.
What these two worlds have in common is the demand for mental strength and perseverance; for Callum Whittaker, these things come naturally.
A native of London, England, Whittaker brings an unmatched wealth of playing experience to the SFU men’s soccer team. The defender saw action with the youth teams of Chelsea, Ipswich Town, and Southend United in England before being named the captain of Northern Ireland’s U-18 and U-19 international squads. Not bad for a player who tried out the sport just for fun at age six.
Whittaker recalls, “My dad always played football as a kid, he was a part of Arsenal’s group as a youngster. But he never pushed it upon me and wanted me to find out what I wanted to do in life. It was random how I ended up doing it; one of my friends had a flyer for a local team and didn’t want to go alone. He left after the first session and I stayed on and pretty much went from there.”
Just three years later, Whittaker would be picked up by Leyton Orient FC and would sign his first contract lasting until age 16. Chelsea eventually paid the buy-out clause in the player’s contract at age 12.
“Chelsea is based out of Surrey, which was two hours away so it became quite strenuous on family to get me there three to four times a week. From there, at age 14, I went to Ipswich Town until I was 16. After, I began a sort of apprenticeship to live at Southend United’s hotel and trained with the first team as a 16-year old.”
Three years later, Whittaker’s playing career came to an end with Southend, but he was given the opportunity to take his game to North America and The University of San Diego, an NCAA division I school.
“I wanted initially to go to other clubs, but my mom said it would be best to get an education for free through scholarships. Moving away from home is tough, but leaving at 16 to go live in a hotel was a stepping stone that helped ease me into it. Probably the hardest thing was acclimatizing to the California heat when I’m used to rainy England.”
Now in his senior year, the communications major has landed in beautiful (rainy) BC as a new transfer to don the kit of SFU’s Clan. Alongside another Southend youth product, Robert Hyams, the Englishman immediately broke into the highly competitive starting 11, and made his defensive presence felt from preseason onward.
“I’m a big communicator, I like to because that keeps me focused. If I go quiet I can lose concentration, so if I talk it means I’m thinking about everything more and more,” said the defender. “I think I’m fairly tenacious in the tackle, I like to get stuck in, I don’t mind pulling up my sleeves and getting dirty when [I] need to. Besides that, I am comfortable on the ball and can pass it around to get things ticking.”
It is fitting that the outspoken defender has chosen communications as his field of study, but his hard work and grit show that actions can speak louder than words on the pitch. The English style of play is reflected in his aggressiveness and determination — traits that Whittaker admired in Manchester United’s legendary midfielder, Roy Keane.
“He was my idol, I loved his tenacious ability, his attitude was spot on everyday and I try to model myself after that. He is aggressive because it’s the winning attitude inside of him; it’s always football first.”
Whittaker started his play in the same position as the Red Devil at centre midfield, and displayed his versatility in the centre back and fullback positions.
Even when thinking of a career outside of professional soccer, Whittaker’s love for the game shines through — he suggests an interest in a career in media relations, saying, “I wouldn’t mind going into the media side of football, I could talk about the sport for the rest of my life.”
For now, though, his goal for this season is an historic one: to help SFU become the first Canadian NCAA champions. “As an athlete that would be a defining moment of a career. There’s always a bit of hatred at us, so it’s a burning fuel to go out and do it.”
