T-burg’s Elle Mount recounts first year of soccer in Italy

For high school graduates looking to continue their athletic careers, the most common option is to attend one of the thousands of colleges around the country. One recent Trumansburg girls soccer alum took a bit of a different route.

Elle Mount spent this past year playing at the Rome City Institute, a university in Italy that allows students to study while playing sports at a high level. Mount was first inspired to take her talents abroad on a trip to Italy with the IAC All-Star team during her senior year. One of the teams they competed against had a player who attended the school. After hearing about her experiences there, Mount kept that in mind when deciding where to take her talents.

“I always knew I wanted to play soccer in college,” Mount said. “Since Trumansburg is kind of smaller and not many of our games have film, it was sort of hard. I was having trouble getting in contact with coaches and things like that. So when this all came about and I told my mom about it and we finished the application and everything, it was like, ‘If this is something I can actually do, then this would be an amazing opportunity.’”

A typical day at the Rome City Institute for Mount was jam-packed. In the morning, she had practice with the Rome City team, which she described as the most intense training she’s ever experienced. In the afternoon, she took a couple of classes: Italian and soccer methodology, the latter of which was taught by someone who works with the Italian women’s national team. Then in the evening, she had another practice with SS Romulea, an amateur team based in Rome that plays in the fourth tier of Italian soccer.

Mount signed with SS Romulea in October, giving her a chance to play competitive soccer in Serie D. After going on trials with a few teams, she explained what drew her to the team.

“All the girls were really nice, and even the ones who barely spoke a word of English tried to talk to me,” Mount said. “There were some club teams that I had gone on trial to before that you sort of felt iced out… It was really nice being there. They all tried to talk to us and they loved asking questions about New York and they thought it was really cool. The coaches were really welcoming, and it was a really amazing team. From the first scrimmage that I went to with them, they were just really awesome girls and I really loved their playing style. They were a really great team to get to play with this season.”

With so much experience under her belt in such a short time, Mount picked up on multiple differences in the style of play in Italy compared to the U.S..

“They were super technical,” Mount said. “In general, the whole playing style was faster, which was awesome but also a really difficult adjustment at first. They’re a lot more physical, so that was also different.”

A heightened level of play certainly came with its challenges, but it ultimately helped Mount grow her own game in many aspects.

“[I improved] my speed of play and decision making, the things that you really can’t practice on your own,” Mount said. “Practicing in those environments where every single practice was kind of getting pushed out of my comfort zone, there was really no choice other than to adapt. I’m definitely still adapting to that and still getting used to how fast those girls can play and how aggressive they can play, but that was definitely the biggest adjustment and biggest thing that changed.”

Another big difference for Mount was living in a much larger place than she’s used to. After all, Rome has a population nearly 17,000 times that of Trumansburg.

“I think the biggest culture shock was less about being in Italy,” Mount said. “It was more about going from Trumansburg to Rome, like being in a city. It was just crazy and something that I still don’t think I’ve fully adjusted to, like being in the city and everything being so close by or things being open at night. I was not used to that at all.”

Mount’s time in Italy is far from over. She will spend the next three years at the Rome City Institute to complete her undergraduate degree. Mount is unsure if she will sign with SS Romulea again, but she can’t wait to continue studying and playing in a country obsessed with “the beautiful game.”

“I’m really excited to get back to practicing with the Rome City team,” Mount said. “If I go on trial with a club that I really think would be a good fit, then I think I would sign there. But I’m just sort of seeing where it goes, training this summer and getting ready for whatever comes next season.”