James Hickok ’13 Finds Westport In Sweden

As an All-American goalkeeper, James Hickok ’13 led Staples to 3 FCIAC titles.

At Dartmouth College, he captained the Big Green to their 3rd straight Ivy League crown last fall.

Hickok graduated in the spring. UBS hired him as an analyst.

But they allowed him to defer work for a year. First, he’s playing professional soccer.

After trials in Spain and Scotland, Hickok was signed last week by Swedish club Gimo IF FK.

He headed overseas. He walked into the clubhouse — and there, among the dozens of banners hanging from the rafters, he spotted a very familiar one:

The Westport Soccer Association pennant was exchanged with Gimo when the youth teams met years ago, at the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden.

And — in another reminder that this is indeed a very small world — the coach of that Westport team was current Wrecker head coach Dan Woog.

NOTE: James Hickok made 12 saves in his professional debut yesterday.