Edward Frye III took a car ride, looking for experience and feedback on his craft. Little did he expect at the time that the outcome would result in him soon taking his talents overseas.
Frye participated in the Serie A Elite camp in August 2023 in Toronto, a showcase in association with the Rome City Institute soccer program. After the two-day camp, Frye didn’t hear back until mid-October, when he got the official email that he was offered a scholarship.
Now, with plans to pack his bags and move to the school’s campus, in Rome, Italy, on Aug. 23, Frye still couldn’t believe the opportunity was soon approaching. The first in his family to play overseas, the move comes after the 18-year-old had the opportunity to travel to Rome on a school trip with Lockport High School from late March to early April.
“It feels great,” Frye said. “To be honest, it’s kind of somewhat of a dream. I didn’t really expect it. I went into the little showcase hoping for the best and hoping that I would get the chance to go to Rome. … Once I got the email saying that I was approved and they chose me to go to Italy, I was ecstatic.”
Leading up to his opportunity with Rome City Institute, Frye spent three seasons at the varsity level with Lockport, contributing 11 goals and 13 assists and received second-team honors from the Niagara Frontier League as a senior. Plus, during the off-season, Frye was a member of the FC Empire Buffalo Stallions, overseen by Rudy Pompert.
This year, Frye transitioned from playing on the left wing to becoming a back, playing defense for both the Lions and Stallions and was looking at Saint Bonaventure before accepting the scholarship. While he has had discussions with Rome City’s director of athletics and head of football Mauro Girini and associate director of athletics and student life Richard Demuro, Frye thinks his skill set will transfer over against the competition.
“I’m very good with the ball, my feet, my technical abilities (are) pretty good and I can see the field very well,” Frye said. “Sometimes, I see stuff that my other teammates don’t see and I’m very good at communicating. … I like to be able to control the game and see everything going on.”
With the opportunity to play overseas also comes some adjustment for Frye, with facing what he considered to be higher competition. As the official academy of Lega Serie A, Rome City Institute’s soccer program provides a nine-month season and practices five days a week, while playing under UEFA-licensed coaches.
But the opportunity for Frye also now gives him an opportunity to play in the European style of soccer, relying heavily on tactic strategy against opponents, while also being open to adapt to new techniques.
“He’s watched it and oftentimes when kids get to a certain age, it’s more than just watching the game,” Lockport head coach Anthony Molinaro said. “He studied it. … So, he’s been able to take on that mature approach and knowing that there are things that obviously he could be limited to, but that he’d want to try and obviously, work at, obviously, to become better.”