Indiana University Athletics
Living The Dream at IU
1/1/2024 4:11:00 PM | Men's Soccer
When you read the Right to Dream Academy's mission, it's not hard to understand why Collins Oduro to play for the Indiana men's soccer program:
"We are a football community dedicated to expanding people's understanding of excellence through football. We're committed to nurturing young talents and creating opportunities for them to pursue their dreams on and off the pitch through a unique blend of football, education, and character development."
Sound familiar?
Oduro left his home in Bibiani, Ghana, at 10 years old to pursue his dream of becoming a professional soccer player – a dream that he, and his support system, won't let be denied.
At the time Right to Dream hosted a trail nearby, Oduro was too young to play for the local club – he had only played for school teams. Yet, his brother, Bossman, the nearest in age of his five older brothers, recognized his talent and took him to the trial anyway.
Because Collins didn't have a club, he spent most of the trial waiting on the sideline, watching others showcase their talents. Bossman recognized one of the coaches, implored him to give Collins a chance to play with a team that day – any team. The coach relented, gave Collins minutes with his team, and the rest is history. Collins needed just one match to impress the Right to Dream scouts. They pulled him aside and invited him to the next stage of trials, where he was then selected to join the academy.
Oduro moved across the country to the Right to Dream Ghana Academy, joining players from all over Africa for an experience that included regular soccer training, education, housing, et cetera.
"It's just the best place for any kid to be," Oduro said. "Just growing up learning about the game, building your education and your character is just the best thing. Every kid in Ghana, in Africa, actually, wants to be in Right to Dream because of that."
Collins credits Right to Dream for giving him the foundation to become the player and person he is today – a quick, skillful, expressive forward that unbalances defenses and an Academic All-Big Ten selection as a sport marketing and management major, who is generous with a smile that lights up the room.
Coming to Indiana, Oduro says, is a fine-tuning, a continuation of the process of becoming a professional player and high-character person, a well-rounded individual.
"I just knew this this place would be a good place for me to grow as a person and as a player," he said. "Not just on the field, but outside the field, and that was that was the reason why I chose IU."
"The coaches always emphasize being a complete player, not just my individual ability, like dribbling, which I like to do. Before coming to college, I was more of like an attacking player. I just wanted to dribble, score – that was what I was used to. And then being in college, my decision making, my defensive work have improved so much because that's what Todd always emphasizes."
As he sets foot into his senior season, Oduro said he has also learned about leadership.
"Being a leader is not always just about talking, having a voice," he said. "It's also setting good examples. And I might not be the voice of the team, but just every day going out there and setting good example for either the freshman or other players to follow is just one of one of the things that I've learned."
He's not just setting an example for the players around him, but for future Hoosiers as well. Oduro is the first Right to Dream academy product to play at Indiana, but he's not the last. Fellow Ghanaian Michael Adu-Gyamfi will join the program in the fall as a freshman.
"It means a lot to me. One of the things that we were taught [at Right to Dream] is just always try to represent yourself well, represent the academy wherever you go, represent your family, your community and just try to create opportunity for all the future academy players to see their dreams come true.
"So, seeing Michael committing this place, it just means a lot to me. It's very special for me, that I'm doing something right."
His message for the dreamers out there? Keep dreaming. "Dream big."
"I never stopped dreaming. I always knew I would end up playing either in college or playing in a professional environment, and I never stopped dreaming of that. So, if I'm able to do it, and I didn't even have a club to play for, they can also do it."
His dream of becoming a professional soccer player is in hand – Oduro was drafted by Major League Soccer's Orlando City SC following his sophomore season. Motivated to complete his degree and help the program win more titles, the three-time Big Ten Champion chose to see out his four years in Bloomington. As his time in college begins to close, he has Indiana-specific dreams still to capture.
"I just want to keep improving as a player, as a person, just learn as much as I can my last year here," Oduro said. "I can't even believe this is my last year here. Everything here is just so special. My goal is to win a championship, to win as much as I can and to grow as a person and as a player my last year here."
"Seeing the history behind this program before I came here, and then being able to wear the IU shirt just every day makes me very proud," he said with his signature smile. "I just want to go out there, give everything to this place."
"We are a football community dedicated to expanding people's understanding of excellence through football. We're committed to nurturing young talents and creating opportunities for them to pursue their dreams on and off the pitch through a unique blend of football, education, and character development."
Sound familiar?
Oduro left his home in Bibiani, Ghana, at 10 years old to pursue his dream of becoming a professional soccer player – a dream that he, and his support system, won't let be denied.
At the time Right to Dream hosted a trail nearby, Oduro was too young to play for the local club – he had only played for school teams. Yet, his brother, Bossman, the nearest in age of his five older brothers, recognized his talent and took him to the trial anyway.
Because Collins didn't have a club, he spent most of the trial waiting on the sideline, watching others showcase their talents. Bossman recognized one of the coaches, implored him to give Collins a chance to play with a team that day – any team. The coach relented, gave Collins minutes with his team, and the rest is history. Collins needed just one match to impress the Right to Dream scouts. They pulled him aside and invited him to the next stage of trials, where he was then selected to join the academy.
Oduro moved across the country to the Right to Dream Ghana Academy, joining players from all over Africa for an experience that included regular soccer training, education, housing, et cetera.
"It's just the best place for any kid to be," Oduro said. "Just growing up learning about the game, building your education and your character is just the best thing. Every kid in Ghana, in Africa, actually, wants to be in Right to Dream because of that."
Collins credits Right to Dream for giving him the foundation to become the player and person he is today – a quick, skillful, expressive forward that unbalances defenses and an Academic All-Big Ten selection as a sport marketing and management major, who is generous with a smile that lights up the room.
Coming to Indiana, Oduro says, is a fine-tuning, a continuation of the process of becoming a professional player and high-character person, a well-rounded individual.
"I just knew this this place would be a good place for me to grow as a person and as a player," he said. "Not just on the field, but outside the field, and that was that was the reason why I chose IU."
"The coaches always emphasize being a complete player, not just my individual ability, like dribbling, which I like to do. Before coming to college, I was more of like an attacking player. I just wanted to dribble, score – that was what I was used to. And then being in college, my decision making, my defensive work have improved so much because that's what Todd always emphasizes."
As he sets foot into his senior season, Oduro said he has also learned about leadership.
"Being a leader is not always just about talking, having a voice," he said. "It's also setting good examples. And I might not be the voice of the team, but just every day going out there and setting good example for either the freshman or other players to follow is just one of one of the things that I've learned."
He's not just setting an example for the players around him, but for future Hoosiers as well. Oduro is the first Right to Dream academy product to play at Indiana, but he's not the last. Fellow Ghanaian Michael Adu-Gyamfi will join the program in the fall as a freshman.
"It means a lot to me. One of the things that we were taught [at Right to Dream] is just always try to represent yourself well, represent the academy wherever you go, represent your family, your community and just try to create opportunity for all the future academy players to see their dreams come true.
"So, seeing Michael committing this place, it just means a lot to me. It's very special for me, that I'm doing something right."
His message for the dreamers out there? Keep dreaming. "Dream big."
"I never stopped dreaming. I always knew I would end up playing either in college or playing in a professional environment, and I never stopped dreaming of that. So, if I'm able to do it, and I didn't even have a club to play for, they can also do it."
His dream of becoming a professional soccer player is in hand – Oduro was drafted by Major League Soccer's Orlando City SC following his sophomore season. Motivated to complete his degree and help the program win more titles, the three-time Big Ten Champion chose to see out his four years in Bloomington. As his time in college begins to close, he has Indiana-specific dreams still to capture.
"I just want to keep improving as a player, as a person, just learn as much as I can my last year here," Oduro said. "I can't even believe this is my last year here. Everything here is just so special. My goal is to win a championship, to win as much as I can and to grow as a person and as a player my last year here."
"Seeing the history behind this program before I came here, and then being able to wear the IU shirt just every day makes me very proud," he said with his signature smile. "I just want to go out there, give everything to this place."
Players Mentioned
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