Xavier Manning '24 Recruiting Profile

2023 has been a very big year for me both on the pitch and academically.

I made the decision to leave both my local club team and the Vancouver White Caps Academy and move to Spain and join the FC Malaga City Academy who recruited me.

I am still proud of being selected to join the Vancouver White Caps Academy program and will always look back fondly upon my time with the amazing players and coaches. However I felt moving to Spain and playing in a European Academy environment against top amateur teams and professional La Liga Academies would push my soccer development to another level and also help me grow as a person.

I’m happy to say that it was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. The challenge of showing up as an unknown player where I could not speak the language was something that I’d never experienced before. Going from being the captain of my local team and being used to playing 90 minutes every match to having to prove myself from day one in Malaga was truly character building.

In Spain I went from being the Canadian kid who was not even selected to dress for my first 3 weeks there; to proving myself at practice and earning my chance to dress. I’m proud to say that I went on to score in that debut and subsequently went on to dress and start in every game after that but by the end of the season I was made one of the team captains. (I have full game footage from my debut and all other matches in Spain should any coaches be interested in viewing it)

None of this would have been possible had I not opted to leave my hometown circle of comfort and gone after this new challenge.

I’m proud to say that when I left Spain to return to Canada I left not only a better player than when I arrived but I also left with friends and contacts in the global soccer community that I will forever cherish. I also left with a 4.07 GPA which my parents were very happy about.

This Summer I’m very proud to say that I was invited to try out for and subsequently went on to make the CPL Halifax Wanderers U18 Academy. There was stiff competition from across Eastern Canada invited and I couldn’t be happier that I made the team.

We went on to play in and win the Canada Youth Cup in the U18 Division. This tournament hosted some of the top ranked teams from across Canada with other CPL and Elite Academies participating. Not only did we go on to win the tournament going 4 and 0. But we had also zero goals against in the entire tournament. (All of these games are recorded as well)

I’m proud to say that following that tournament based on what my coaches saw from me, I’ve now been invited to train with the Halifax Wanderers first team. This is an amazing opportunity for me to learn from former MLS Draft picks, Canadian Men’s National Team Players and even guys who have played in the English Premier League. The coaches and guys have been great teachers and I look forward to developing even further from this experience.

The biggest attributes that come with me are my positive attitude, work ethic, passing ability, physicality, leadership abilities and the fact that I really love winning battles in the air and on the ground.

I’m very interested in studying finance and economics and am looking for a top academic school with a strong athletic program that will continue to challenge me and help me to grow both on and off the field.