ALL-AMERICAN Mitch Conning is loving his spell in the US, and has adapted seamlessly to ‘soccer’ in the States.

The former Terras’ and Portland United striker, who also represented Yeovil Town at youth level, travelled across the pond to Iowa in July 2013 for the first two years of an Associate of the Arts degree in psychology.

And he has not looked back since.

Away from academia, the 21-year-old has had a huge amount of success in his two-year spell on the pitch with the Iowa Central Tritons, who he captained in his sophomore year this season.

Speaking about the decision to move to Iowa, Conning, who grew up in Chickerell, told Echosport: “It came about around two years ago when I was recommended by a good friend of mine to give an agency a try.

“I contacted them, went through the whole process, and ended up flying out.

“It is probably one of the best things I have ever done, I wouldn’t change it for the world, and I was lucky enough to spend Christmas in Florida with one of my team-mates last year.

“The people I have met and the chances I have been given have been top notch and I don’t believe I would have got those chances staying at home.”

Conning made 35 appearances for the Blues’ during their 2012/13 Dorset Premier League title winning campaign before jetting out to America, where he has enjoyed a sublime spell in his two years with the Tritons.

On a scholarship with the school and playing as the figurehead of the Iowa Central strike force in his first season, the Dorset youngster bagged 18 goals and 11 assists on his way to being named in his region’s top XI.

And playing in a position behind the striker as skipper this season, Conning’s 14 goals and 10 assists helped him claim an All-American, awarded by the National Soccer Coaches of America Association.

“The two years I have had in Iowa have been a real success,” he added.

“It was a huge honour to captain the team in my second year. Being able to represent the school and lead the boys in the way we did was a huge thing.

“We beat the reigning national champions this season and were ranked as high as sixth in the nation.”

The ex-Terra believes he has developed differently as a player with the Tritons than he would have done staying in local football in the UK.

“It has made me adapt and develop in a way I wouldn’t have at home,” he claimed.

“When you are playing in the summers over here it is roasting. In the season you are in great shape, but even out of season the professionalism is good from top to bottom.

“Even now out of season we train every day by lifting weights or playing indoors.

“The way things are run and the way sport is viewed, in my opinion, is the way people back home need to look at. A lot of kids slip through the net back home because they aren’t given the opportunity.”

The striker will now venture elsewhere for the final two years of his studies, and he is hoping another scholarship will help him do that.

He added: “I could be all over the country, from schools in New York and Florida to South Carolina, it all depends on the scholarship really.

“Ultimately, if I get my degree, which is what I aim to do, I would love to stay and play out here.

“That is difficult to arrange with visas and residency, it is all a case of what doors open from here.”