Ashley Brooks drafted by the Warriors Bologna team in Italy
Brooks told The SUN it has always been his dream to play American football, adding that he vividly remember the year and draft that made me decide that this was going to be my path, the 2012 NFL draft.
“Seeing the likes of Andrew Luck and RG3 grace and glamorize the sport made me a die heart fan and since then I wanted to play Quarterback,” he said. “My road to achieving this however was not easy because as previously stated, we do not play American football in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I first left home in 2013 on a basketball scholarship. I was awarded to a prep school in Dallas Texas. I accessed this opportunity through a local program called Blazer Elite Academy out of Providenciales led by Coach Evans and Coach Harvey.
The son of acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Dr. Angela Brooks and her husband Desmond, added: “Although I wanted to play football, I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity and just trusted that my chance will come later on, and so it did. After completing 2 years at the prep school, I earned a scholarship to play basketball at an HBCU in Dallas called Paul Quinn College. Upon graduating in 2019, I tried out for a local semi pro team called the Dallas Vikings, this was my first taste of actual football. I played two season as the backup, learning the game and getting reps where I could.”
Ashley said that after these two seasons, he caught wind of an agency called Playoverseas, a program that allowed athletes that may have used all their college eligibility in America to continue their sport in the UK whilst earning a masters degree.
“I jumped at this opportunity and within a few months, I was heading to the UK to play for Coach Dale at Leeds Beckett University. My obstacles were not done as yet. Unfortunately, just two games in, I ended up fracturing my elbow which ultimately took me out of contention for playing time. I was able to return but again was the backup, this was frustrating to say the least but I never let it discourage me,” he added.
“A teammate of mine, Nick Alberto helped me set up a pro account with an agency called Europlayers after the season and within a few short months I was getting interest from Lei teams across Europe. Fast forward to 2024, I have now played for 2 professional teams in Romania and Paris, and am now embarking on my 3rd contract to play in Bologna Italy for the Warriors. My story is one of perseverance and defying the odds despite my circumstance, my wish is that I can encourage other youth in the Turks and Caicos to chaser their dreams no matter what they may be because you never know, it just might come true!”
