Seventeen year old Cole Gulledge received an unexpected phone call Thursday morning from Charleston Battery Coach Dusty Huddock inviting him to play a match on Fridaynight at 7:30 pm.Turns out that the match will be for the Charleston Battery vs West Bromwich Albion of the English Premier League at Blackbaud Stadium in Daniel Island. Gulledge is a rising senior at St. James High School and a current member of the S.C. Battery U-18 Development Academy team. “It took me a moment to process what Coach Huddock was asking me. Once the initial shock wore off I just became filled with excitement. This is an amazing opportunity for me to compete against world class players in a terrific atmosphere” said Gulledge

Before joining the S.C. Battery Development Academy,  Gulledge played his entire youth career at Coast FA and is a current member of the NPSL Myrtle Beach Mutiny.  “I owe a lot to all of my coaches at Coast starting at age five in the micro league up to playing two years in the Region III Premier League at age fifteen. These coaches gave me everything that I needed to be successful and I intend to make the most of my opportunities moving forward. The facilities at Socastee Park were a great place to learn the game and I still use them on a regular basis. There are a lot of quality players coming up through the Coast FA system” added Gulledge.

” As Cole’s former coach I am super proud of him for his achievements. His efforts on and off the field are a testament to his hard work and is what created this opportunity for himtomorrow night. He has a bright future on and off the pitch” said Coach Joel Banta.

Coast Director of Coaching Ross Morgan added ” This is a great opportunity for Cole to play against an established Premier League side full of seasoned professional players many with World Cup, European Championship and Copa America experience. It is nice to see a player that started with Coast FA as a five year old go through our program, become a starter with the U.S Development Academy and now get a chance to play with the Battery against West Brom. Well done Cole.