SWPL-sgiving: Jorian Baucom (and a Recipe for Candied Yams)
We invited some of Scotland's resident Americans to speak to us about their lives in football and how they are finding the best country/league in the world.
There are now enough players in the SWPL with ties to the USA that you could make an entire starting eleven with them and still have players left over for the bench. With Thanksgiving coming up this week, we thought we’d chat with some of the resident SWPL Americans (and one SWNT American) to learn more about them, their careers, and how they ended up in the best country in the world. We’ve even thrown in a recipe at the end for you to share in their favourite thanksgiving food/s.
Jorian Baucom had been tearing up Liga BPI in Portugal with Damaiense (along with Summer Green, formerly of Celtic) before the call from the SWPL came. Returning manager Grant Scott wanted to bring in further attacking options and turned to the American forward.
We brought her back to those days growing up in Arizona, before she became the jet-setting goalscorer she has become.
Mine is easy, my parents. I’m an only child and just growing up and having their support as a kid playing football, they’ve sacrificed so much for me to even get to this point where I’m at now and just knowing I step on the field every time to play for them. They’re always watching my games and of course the time difference is terrible so they’re waking up 3am, 5am, just to watch my games here. They’re luckily able to come visit me as well no matter what country I’m playing in, so, to have the support they give me keeps me pushing to be the best I can every day whether it’s training or games.
We hear so much about how women’s football in the states is further forward than it is here, however, Baucom was honest that she is one of the lucky ones that could afford to be part of that system. She also had some reflection on why the college system is so beneficial for American players as they move up toward professional football.
Having my parents being able to provide meant I was able to play on a really good club team when I was growing up. I was able to develop early with personal training and one on one development, being able to play with boys while I was younger to help with my technical side. Then going from club to high school to college helps you experience different types of football at different levels and play with different players who are at different levels so you become better as well. It’s where you start to learn who you’re becoming as a player once you start to get to college level because you’re playing with girls of different ages, from different states, different countries, and being able to take that into the pro level is something that most cant say they have the ability to because I know it is hard for girls abroad to go to university when they have the academy levels. But, playing college soccer helped me transition to the pro level for sure.
Then comes the NWSL draft. To quickly explain for anyone unaware, in the NWSL clubs acquire the rights to a player when they are playing in the NWSL, a club owning those rights does not necessarily mean they will offer or agree a contract with that player. In the draft clubs use their picks (and trades but that’s a whole other thing) to acquire the rights to players that are graduating from college teams across the country. Nothing is certain until the ink has dried but teams generally reach out ahead of this to gauge whether a player is interested and get a sense of their personality. After the draft, undrafted players may still be invited to pre-season camps to trial and potentially earn a contract.
Jorian Baucom declared herself for the 2019 draft. While she was predicted to be picked, with Top Drawer Soccer having her as the 21st best prospect in her graduating class, she went undrafted before being picked up on a National Team Replacement deal by the Houston Dash. A moment that really could have broken her career but she used it to make herself stronger.
It’s definitely a nerve wracking moment but I think as women’s football is growing there are definitely more avenues for players these days to get to the pro level. I always try to tell girls not to worry about the draft whether you’re picked up or not, there is always going to be a team, in the states or not. There is another option, you don’t need to think your career is over just because you weren’t drafted. I do think it is important for girls to experience different cultures and types of cultures by going abroad, I think I like to typically encourage people to just try it once. You learn so much by leaving your comfort zone and your area of being home. For me, I’ve been in several countries and learning different types of football in all of them has helped me adapt to new environments.
Baucom did make it to the NWSL, playing for Houston Dash, Racing Louisville, and North Carolina Courage, before setting off on a European adventure. That step up, especially straight out of college, is something that’s so difficult to imagine. Imagine someone coming out of an academy system that’s never made a senior appearance, being expected to go to a new team, in a different city, to make an immediate impact. Baucom game credit to her former teammates on helping her acclimatise to the new environment.
It’s tough, you don’t really know what you’re about to be thrown into. You’re already playing against girls that have been in the league for years, national team players, top level players. I think what helped me is that those players are so welcoming and able to take you under their wing and give you their guidance like they had when they were my age and ultimately you just have to be like ‘no they brought me in for a reason, they believe in me, they see something in me’ and I have to stick to what I know I’m good at as well as learning from them with what is going to help me improve my game and what will help me become a better player.
Player rights. Let’s open that can of worms. In the US the rights to a player playing in the NWSL are owned by the club, these rights can be traded for allocation money, other players, draft picks, and a number of other intangible things that go right over our heads. The majority of players that play in the American system will experience being traded at least once, and it’s a process that has been criticised for maybe not having the players’ best interests in mind. Baucom experienced it at the end of her time with Louisville as she was traded to North Carolina.
It’s definitely like you don’t know what’s going to happen next in your career. I’m lucky enough to have an agent that helps a lot with that reaching out to every team and every country possible to find the best fit for where you think you’re going to be able to succeed and thrive in that environment and taking a chance, showing up, and figuring it out when you get there. That’s one of the more difficult things for Americans going overseas because you usually do need an agent or to have some type of connect to get to somewhere else outside the states. Especially in the states with it just being the NWSL and I think a lot of girls think if you don’t make it there your career’s done but there are so many other places you can go and thrive, the NWSL is a great league and something great to strive for but that’s not the end of your journey, it’s just starting.
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Baucom’s journey was certainly just starting, spells in Czechia, Germany, and Portugal followed as the American striker set off to score goals in every corner of Europe. That decision isn’t an easy one to come to though, technology has made it easier for the Hibs number five.
It’s definitely more of a mental decision than a physical football decision because of course you’re leaving home, you’re leaving family, the time difference, different cultures, you don’t really know what you’re going to get. For me personally, I have been travelling since a young age so I don’t really have an issue leaving home and it’s nice because I do still talk to my parents every day otherwise they’d think something’s wrong! But it is tough, you just have to take a chance on yourself and know that if you are going to continue playing you’re going to have to make certain sacrifices and adjust to things you’re not used to doing.
So, ending up in Scotland doesn’t seem the wildest thing ever. Especially with her experience playing with Summer Green and the Americans already in the league. But, that wasn’t the only draw for her making the move.
So, that’s how I knew this was a good league with it being put on my map by a lot of Americans coming to play in it and for me it came down to wanting a new challenge. When Hibs came it was through my agent and I had great conversations with Grant [Scott] and Stewart [Hall] prior to me even arriving in Scotland and just hearing what they have in mind for the club and their aspirations, and what they had in mind for me coming in. How they were going to help me become a better player, how they would develop me through training and games, was just something I really admired and liked hearing from them because a lot of teams will be like ‘yeah sure, we’ll take a chance’ but to hear that they genuinely believed in me and they were constantly checking in. Having coaches believe in you as a person and a player is something I couldn’t resist saying no to
Any new league is going to be different to play in, with different styles of football played all round the world (contrary to popular belief the SWPL isn’t some super physical, long ball, kick-fest but it is certainly a change from the slower pace of Portuguese football). There’s the added benefit of living in one of the best cities in the world, something Baucom is clearly enjoying.
I think I’m slowly starting to find my footing here in the league (HYT note: Baucom has scored 10 in 13 appearances, if this is her ‘finding her footing’ we are scared for how good she’ll be when she finds it), learning different teams, the culture here, as well as just learning the players around me and I have been doing well so far and I want to continue building on that, but I can’t score goals on my own so growing those relationships with the other players around me and us trusting the process.
It’s a little different but it is beautiful here, I love seeing the scenery. The weather of course is a little adjustment but it’s a great city and there are lots of other cities nearby that you can travel to easily as well which I love.
When we asked what she was thankful for this year, Baucom really tied a nice little bow on this article with a call back to the very beginning.
My parents support. It is really hard going to a completely different country, knowing no one, and having no one to talk to, and knowing they’ll believe and stand by whatever choice I make is something I’m really grateful for because its definitely a mental thing playing overseas. You get in your head, you’re not around familiar faces, you cant talk to family as much, and I’m just really grateful for their support, their love, their dedication, sacrificing for me to be doing what I’m doing today is something ill never take for granted.
Finally, it’s time for the most important thing. The food.
The yams! Yams with the marshmallow on top! I don’t know if y’all know what that is but it is mmm, between that and the mac and cheese, you can’t beat it. Honestly, I love thanksgiving because I’m always stuffing my face but I make really good candied yams. I’ll have to make some and bring some for you!
Baucom really testing the limits of our culinary experience with this, but we are always up to learn new things and her enthusiasm about candied yams had us racing to [local shop]. We know it sounds a bit weird, marshmallow on top of something very similar to a potato but think of it like pumpkin pie or carrot cake. For this recipe you will need:
Equipment - Two pots, a baking dish, a colander, and a wooden spoon.
3 large yams (or sweet potatoes if you can’t get yams).
500g mini marshmallows
200g dark brown sugar.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
1/2 tsp ground sweet cinnamon.
1/2 tsp nutmeg.
100g of butter.
Step one
Peel and cut your yams into one inch pieces, if you’re making this for someone special then you can make sure these are uniform shapes but in the interest of food waste we’d just leave them as uneven chunks.
Place them in a pot of water on the hob on a medium heat to boil for 5-10 minutes, until soft but not cooked through. Think roast potatoes, not mash. Remove and drain, set to one side.
Step two
Place a separate pot on a medium-high heat and melt the butter, being careful not to burn it, once melted lower the heat and add the sugar and stir for a minute until fully melted. You may need to add a splash of water here to make sure the sauce is loose enough.
Sprinkle in your spices and add vanilla extract while stirring
Step three
Butter your baking dish and add the drained yams, pour the sauce mixture over the top of them and stir gently to make sure the yams are totally covered. Place in the oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes, you want the yams to be fork tender.
When ready, remove from the oven and sprinkle the marshmallows on top to create an even layer. Then, return to the oven for the marshmallows to melt and caramelise on top. Keep a close eye on them at this stage so they don’t burn and brown to your liking. Remove from the oven when done and allow five minutes for them to cool down.