User:PESoccerAgent/sandbox

Philippe Simon Edmonds (born January 30, 2000) is a Canadian professional football player (no relation to the cricketer) currently playing in Sweden with Nosaby IF. Described by previous coaches and managers as an intelligent, flexible player capable of playing any midfield or defensive position. Born from British and French parents, Philippe benefits from three citizenships (Canadian, English, and French) which allows him to move easily to anywhere in North America, Europe and the UK. As a defender, Philippe doesn’t currently have many opportunities to take penalties, however, he has not missed one in over 8 years. Early Life Born in Toronto, Philippe took an early interest in “soccer”, playing at 4 years old in a house league: “Just for Kicks”. As soon as he was old enough, he requested to be transferred to their academy team. At that time, he was told: “Right now you’re the big fish on the team. In the academy, you will just be equal to others, is that what you want?” He answered “Yes. I play with the older kids at school because I like the challenge”. Development The Academy team, Score, played in the SAAC league (Soccer Academy Alliance Canada) which fully followed the FIFA rules for player development teams. This provided Philippe with an ideal environment to develop his craft and the opportunity to work with top coaches in player development. Always looking for growth, Philippe also played for other academies in the SAAC league such as Toronto Skilz and ANB. Through these academy teams Philippe was also exposed to coaches from Germany, France, Wales and England. Philippe often spent the summer with family in France and England. At 7 years old his coach in Canada introduced Philippe to Warwick Rimmer head coach of the academy at Tranmere Rovers FC near Liverpool in England. Warwick was a very respected coach, followed by the Premier League teams in the area. Warwick, who retired in 2008, had offered Philippe an open invitation to return, an offer that Philippe was able to accept two years in a row. Thanks to Bassam Naim at ANB (Toronto) Philippe, at 18 years old, went with a select group of teammates to train for 6 weeks in England at a Football School in the Crystal Palace area of London. Philippe was invited back to join the Football School in London. Staying in South London, he played for Carshalton Athletic FC for one season as a midfielder. Covid-19 Philippe returned to Canada during COVID and used the opportunity to work on his fitness. He established his own gym at home and worked with the highly renown Clance Laylor at LPS Athletic to repair a longstanding back injury and improve his strength, speed, and overall fitness. Philippe also used the many openair locations in Toronto to run ball drills on his own or with friends. Professional Experience Philippe moved from semi-pro to full professional when he got the opportunity through a previous academy coach to tryout at Bangor City FC in Wales UK where he played under Hugo Colace in his first professional contract in May 2021. Hugo switched Philippe from midfield to right back saying “You remind me of Kieran Trippier when I played with him and he was your age.” As the first choice right back, getting ahead of an international player with World Cup Qualifying experience, Philippe enjoyed the second most minutes in the squad. Due to financial problems, Bangor City FC later went into administration that forced the termination of all football activity within the club. After the Bangor City FC collapse, a coach at Fieldoo, who had scouted Philippe, introduced him to Nosaby IF in Sweden in February 2022. Philippe secured two professional contracts for back-to-back seasons in Sweden, Division 2. Each time Philippe played a full game, the squad kept a clean sheet in 2022. Points per game with Philippe equaled 2.06 compared to 0.71 when not featuring.