Iowa City Alliance

The Iowa City Alliance Soccer Club is proud to announce that Tom Parratt, a former Alliance player,
is now playing professionally for Inverness Caledonian Thistle (ICT) in the Scottish Premier League.

Friends of the Parratt family have sponsored Tom's kit in the name of Iowa City Alliance Soccer Club,
to honor Tom and his family and their many contributions to the club.

For more details about Tom and ICT, go to www.caleythistle.com. Suggested pages to visit, via the left side
menu, for references to Tom are under "Player Sponsorship" and "1st Team Squad."

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Parratt Signs 3 Year Scholarship Deal with Birmingham City

Parratt enjoys English experience

By John Riehl
The Gazette
Monday, May 27, 2002, 9:09:30 PM

IOWA CITY -- Tom Parratt admits he was absolutely terrified the first time he played Manchester United -- one of England's most famous and successful football clubs. That was expected.

This former Iowa City High athlete was given the unique opportunity to test his soccer skills against those of England's top teen-age players. Parratt, 16, was awarded a scholarship to play for the Birmingham City Football Club and attend classes at Arrow Vale High School in Redditch, England -- located about 100 miles northwest of London.

Parratt's fear subsided once the game started.

"You don't really recognize the shirt," Parratt said during a visit at his parents' home in Iowa City. "You just recognize that your team is in blue and their team is in red and you might as well get on with it. "If you do that, then you'll play pretty well."

Parratt was happy with his performance in his first season, which ended May 13. He scored seven goals in 50 games while competing for the club's under-16 and under-17 teams and his school squad.

"I struggled the first couple games with the conditions, the speed (of the game) and how big and physical the other players were," said Parratt, who will return to England on June 26. "Once I started lifting weights and running on a regular basis, I was into it. I was playing some nice football."

He was "into it" right away socially. His first weekend in England, Parratt went out with a couple teammates and fit in well with everyone he met. His acceptance carried over to the practice field in the form of good-natured ribbing. "If people don't make fun of you, then you don't fit in," said Parratt, who hasn't seen any other Americans in the same scholarship program. "You know you're in if they're making little digs at you like, 'Oh, you stupid Yank."'

In the classroom, Parratt struggled with the English customs. "Everything is, 'Yes, sir' and 'No, miss.' I got into a little trouble at school with that," said Parratt, who was born in Inverness, Scotland. This coming season, Parratt wants to start every game for Birmingham City's under-17 team before eventually playing on its under-19 squad. On July 1, Parratt's scholarship goes into effect. He will have two years of soccer and three years of education guaranteed. He eventually hopes to play professionally in England.

"The (first) year he was over there wasn't part of his scholarship," said Ian Parratt, Tom's father, a London native and director of the Iowa City Alliance Soccer Club. "(Club officials) felt it was important for him to do that, so when his scholarship started he would be on a level playing field with everybody else.

"I know the people at the club are very pleased with how he's done." Parratt helped Arrow Vale win the under-16 English Schools National Championship tournament. Arrow Vale beat Kingshurst City Technology College, 2-1, in the final.

He also played on the Birmingham City under-16 team that won the Claudio Sassi tournament in Modena, Italy. Birmingham City beat German club team Borussia Dortmund, 2-0, in the final in front of 8,000 fans.

Parratt, who played center and right back, feels his best match was for Birmingham City's under-17 team in a scoreless tie against English club team Aston Villa.

"My job was to just win the ball and just pass it around," Parratt said. "I did more than that. I was making runs forward. Everything just seemed to be going for me that game. The coaches said that is what they expect from me now."

By John Riehl
Gazette sportswriter

Tuesday, September 18, 2001, 11:36:58 PM IOWA CITY -- Tom Parratt had stunned silence when he heard the news on Aug. 16. He had just been offered a scholarship to play for the Birmingham City Football Club -- one of 38 soccer academies in England.  "It's amazing. This is really something I've always wanted to do," said Parratt, a 15-year-old sophomore at Iowa City High. "I wasn't so sure I could achieve it. I've dreamt about this. Whenever the opportunity arose,  I wanted to grab it."

Parratt, a starting midfielder for the Little Hawks as a freshman, will fly to Birmingham -- 110 miles northwest of London -- on Monday.  He will immediately begin attending classes at Arrow Vale School in Redditch, England -- located just outside of Birmingham -- and playing soccer on either the club's under-16 or under-17 teams.  By leaving Monday, Parratt's three-year scholarship will take effect July 1, 2002.  "This is a fabulous opportunity -- one that doesn't come along every five minutes," said Tom's father, Ian Parratt, director of the Iowa City Alliance Soccer Club and former City High coach.

 Tom Parratt, who was born in Inverness, Scotland, and moved to Iowa City with his family in 1989 at age 3, tried out for Birmingham City in August, when his family was in England for a visit.  Ian Parratt, a London native who has soccer contacts in Birmingham, didn't expect his son to earn a scholarship. He just wanted him to test the waters and see where he was at. Tom trained with Birmingham City for nine days and played four trial games-- two with the club's under-16 team. "I went over there and played well in practice and in a couple games," Tom Parratt said. "After that, I thought I could play in that company.  "There are a lot of big, hairy guys over there. They kick everything that moves. You have to get rid of the ball quickly. I was intimidated at first, but that's the type of player I am."

Birmingham City also was impressed with Parratt's soccer resume.  He's played for the Iowa City Alliance since 1997. He's also competed on the Iowa Olympic Development team for the past five years and the Regional Olympic Development team the last two years. "He learned the game in Iowa," said Ian Parratt, who played professionally indoor for the Detroit Rockers from 1990-94. "He played club soccer here. This (accomplishment) is very representative of soccer in the state of Iowa. This says a lot about the progress soccer has made here."

All local content copyright © 2001 by The Gazette Company, Cedar Rapids

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Former Iowa City Alliance player Tom Parratt represents Scotland at a recent International Soccer Tournament

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The Alliance Soccer Club congratulates former Alliance player Tom Parratt on his international soccer debut with the Scottish National Team at The UEFA Championships In Belgium.