Seth Locke is the goalkeeper who has grown up throughout his time at Hartpury, playing non-league football, being managed by celebrities, and looking to go pro.
“I came here as an 18 or 19-year-old and now, at the old age of 23, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve grown a lot as a person, I’ve grown up a lot, learned a lot about myself and learned a lot about what I want to do in the future, and that’s, I guess, what university’s all about.”
“It’s been a fun five years, my undergrad and now I’m doing my Master’s, but I want go overseas and play a bit of football, see if there’s an opportunity to go and play a bit of football anywhere, so, whether it be, in Australia, Sweden, anything like that, there’s options to go and play a bit of football over there.
“If not, I’ll do my Master’s in Strength and Conditioning, so that’s something I’m passionate about and really enjoy. I’d love to have my own gym one day, so that’d be cool.”
Locke has recently made the switch from Malvern Town to Hartpury FC in non-league, the Acorns are coming off the back of a 0-0 draw with Frome Town and is thriving in between the sticks, having already achieved success with Hartpury winning the BUCS Premier League.
Hartpury are one of the few University sides in the English Football ladder, with Loughborough also boasting a strong side in non-league football, with progression being the aim.
“Both squads are quite similar; there’s a little bit of a change from a Wednesday to a Saturday, but it’s a good, tight-knit group, and we all get on well. It’s a good opportunity to come in and train and work hard, and then play on Saturday and on Wednesday.
“At the end of the day, it’s a results business, so you want to win games, progress through leagues, get as high as you can, try and take the university as high as possible because that’s what we do. I’ve been here quite a few years now, I’ve bought into the idea, lots of people have bought into the idea. It’s a good opportunity to get the university up the footballing ladder.”
Whilst doing his master’s at the university, the opportunity arose to compete in the second season of Ballers League, a ground-breaking ‘new era of football’ being run by content creators and attracting the interest of former professionals.
@parklifesport26 Baller League game changers blind rankings with Seth Locke ⚡️⚽️ #parklifesport #ballerleague ♬ original sound – Park life sport
“I had a friend who knew one of the coaches for the MVPs team last year, I asked how I could get involved, I went to the trials and got noticed by Steve Bracknell, who’s quite a big personality on the scene at the moment and got put through to the draft and luckily got picked up by Ruckus and Idris Elba’s team.
“It’s tough, it’s early mornings, it’s long days basically. I’m playing a lot of football, it’s a lot of hard work and a lot of travelling, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t change it because of the amazing opportunities I’m getting, both non-league and football league as well, and obviously university is setting me up for life, so I’ve got to make sure I make something of it.”
