Where Are They Now: Kyle McLagan

Kyle McLagan is becoming quite the world traveler: he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri; played soccer for Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina; played for both NFC and NSC U23 here in Nashville; and is now playing professionally at FC Roskilde in the Danish 1st Division.

While in college at Furman, McLagan started 14 matches as a freshman, and earned All Southern Conference Freshman honors in 2014.  He also garnered 1st team All Southern Conference in 2016.  He graduated at the end of 2017.

McLagan’s girlfriend at the time was attending school at Vanderbilt, and introduced him to NFC coach Kyle Roelke.  After talking some with Roelke, and deciding that he liked his mindset, McLagan joined the NFC squad for the summer of 2016.  Since he got along well with both Roelke and his teammates, he came back to play on the NSC U23 squad in the summer of 2017, this time as captain.  He was also a leader off the field, as he lived in one of the various apartments that were set up for players from out of town, and acted as a liaison between his fellow apartment dwellers and the team.  (He still keeps in touch with some of his former teammates, too.)

Aside from getting along well with Coach Roelke, McLagan also enjoyed Nashville as a city. One of his favorite things about playing soccer is meeting guys from other cultures – something he still loves now, and hopes to continue doing for years to come.

Another fun memory McLagan has of Nashville is getting to meet and work with Gary Smith.  Smith came to Nashville during the 2017 season.  While he was not officially the coach of that squad, he was around some and would offer advice to players.  McLagan says he learned a lot from working with Smith, and continues to follow his career.  He is excited to see NSC start its first season in MLS.  (Aren’t we all?)

When he was a younger player, he had told himself that he would love to play in Europe at some point if he was ever given the chance.  Therefore, McLagan was eager to join FC Roskilde soon after graduating.  Danish is a hard language, though, so one thing he misses about being home is understanding everyone.  As he started learning the language, the first things he learned were all soccer-related.  This barrier has taught him to listen more, as he needs to pay close attention to follow many conversations.

FC Roskilde is in the middle of their current season.  During the course of this season, they’ve done some “cleaning house,” and McLagan went from being one of the youngest team members to one of the more experienced players on the roster.  This allows him to put his leadership skills to use once again, which is a challenge that he relishes.

Kyle McLagan doesn’t know what the next few years will bring, as far as his soccer career is concerned – but he hopes to stay in Europe for a while, and continue traveling to other countries as much as he can.