As I stepped off the plane, I held my breath and paused. I reflected on how far I have came in my athletic and life progression. Today is the day that I bid farewell to my simple life in the UK, crumpets and high tea with Mother on Wednesdays, and the blessed ground of our King Charles.

I am now stepping into a new era in my life, arriving at my first opportunity to play in the League I have dreamed so much about. There’s nothing quite like this feeling, a mixture of nerves and excitement. I stepped into the locker room at the world-class Carolina Kraken facility and I found my locker. “Radley Yates” it said, the name passed down through generations, that I have came to bear with pride. I hear a “Over here, Yates, ya lil’ London boy!” From an unknown voice across the room, and I smell the sweet, earthy smell of Orange Pekoe. I notice my teammates crowded around me, with my captain reaching out to cheers me with my own fresh cuppa’. It was at this moment, I knew. I was home.

(WC 190)