Klukowski Clocks In On Trial

Last updated : 06 July 2009 By Thetashkentterror
Jan Klukowski
Making it four trialists up at the Sheepmount for United at the moment, alongside Fraser McLaren, Martin McBride and James Marwood, is the 21-year old left-sided midfielder who has been plying his trade in college football over in the States for the last four years.

Klukowski started his football in Chippenham Town's schoolboy ranks before then moving up the ladder to Bath City's youth team in July 2003. Klukowski also making 14 appearances for Bath's first eleven, at which point he also turned down several opportunities to join the Bristol Rovers youth academy as well as having trials at Reading and Northampton, before he was offered the chance of a footballing scholarship in the United States.

The Chippenham-born midfielder has now majored in exercise science and health promotion, Klukowski attracting interest from Connecticut University in New England and Fairfield University in Connecticut during his England Schoolboy outings in 2004 and early 2005, where he captained the side.

Yan has had a particularly successful spell in the States where he was named Northeast Conference "Rookie of the Year" in 2005-06, as well as earning five more caps and scoring two more goals for England Schoolboys. In his next year Klukowski continued his progress as he was named co-captain of Central Connecticut State University and featured in the Northeast Conference "All Conference First Team" for the second year in a row.

The left-sided schemer then in 2007-08 also turned out for Ottawa Fury in the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of USL Premier Development League, where he played every minute of all 16 games. His University exploits meanwhile seeing him named in the "All Conference First Team" again, as well as representing Great Britain in the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand.



In his final college year of 2008-09 he shifted his allegiance across the Development League to the now defunct Cape Cod Crusaders. Klukowski now finding himself named in the prestigious ESPN All American ranks as well as once more making the "All Conference First Team".

His final honour being as a candidate for the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top female and male college football players. Three previous winning names to stick out in a rich era being Claudio Reyna in 1993, Brad Friedel in 1992 and Alexi Lalas in 1991.

After leaving University, where he also found time to guest for Chippenham Town during holidays back in the UK, and train with Carlisle in the festive period of 2008, Klukowski in April 2009 signed a season-long contract until the end of August with the professional Western Massachusetts Pioneers in the United States Soccer League Division Two.

Although Klukowski had said at the time of signing that contract that : "In the summer months, I can do coaching. I can help kids in the community, which is what I like to do", he now finds himself in Carlisle looking to try to win a deal with United.

He hasn't been out of favour in Ludlow, Massachusetts though as he has been a first-team regular, his last game being in slightly different surroundings to the Sheepmount on Saturday 27th June. The 21-year old claiming an assist for a goal in a 2-2 draw away to the Bermuda Hogges in Hamilton, Bermuda, incidentally the chairman of the Hogges being Shaun Goater while their manager is Kyle Lightbourne.