Luke Palmer is a native of Windsor Locks, Connecticut. (Photo Courtesy: Luke Palmer)
Have you ever had the opportunity to play in a league with guys who are a few years older than you? Dean Men’s Soccer midfielder Luke Palmer experienced a lot of that when playing soccer growing up.
Palmer started playing recreational soccer when he was five or six years old but was quickly noticed by other coaches in his hometown for travel leagues. By the time he was seven and turning eight, he was playing on the 11U team in his hometown. The Windsor Locks, Connecticut native continued to move up the ladder by playing with the 14U and 15U kids when he was just 10 years old.
“I think that helped shape me now and I have been able to apply those characteristics into the NCAA,” Palmer explained. Palmer also credits his teammates in the 11U, 14U, and 15U leagues for being able to mentor him when he reached the high school level and entered the team as a freshman.
Palmer would best describe his playing style when he was younger as a workhorse. He credits having good technical ability which allowed him to play with guys older than him growing up.
Palmer learned his technical skills from his Dutch Football Academy coach Rens Van Oostende back in Connecticut. “He stressed your first touch and your passing ability. Every practice for two hours, as a group, we would work on passing and possession,” Palmer remembered. He did it for five to six years which helped him develop into a better soccer player.
When it came time for Palmer to start the college search process he instantly fell in love with Dean College because it had a perfect mix of academics and athletics. “I had to choose a place where I felt if I wasn’t playing soccer I could still live and learn at,” Palmer explained. Palmer also mentioned how the Kraft Sports and Entertainment partnership with Dean was a major draw for him.
“I wanted a smaller school that was not in a city. But I still wanted to be close to Boston and Providence. This gave me the perfect environment,” Palmer said. “I did not want a school that was isolated. I looked at a couple of schools in New Hampshire and Maine that were in the middle of nowhere. I wanted to be somewhere that was suburban, and this was perfect,” Palmer continued. On the athletics side, Dean Coach Joe Campbell sold him on building the soccer program.
Palmer played out his entire freshman season in 2019 but missed out on his sophomore season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During his junior year in 2021, Palmer broke his collarbone four games into the season which forced him to miss the rest of the year. In effect, Palmer would have only played for Dean Soccer his freshman and senior years if he graduated in May of 2023. “I couldn’t have done that because I would not have given the program and Coach Campbell what I could have,” Palmer explained. Palmer came back for another semester and will be graduating in December.
On the field, men’s soccer currently has a four-game winning streak as they have a 6-2-1 record and sit in third place in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) standings as of press time. “When we have the ball, we have an identity that we have been developing and it has been coming to fruition. On the other hand, when we do not have the ball, we are fighting for our lives and are willing to put in the work,” Palmer mentioned.
Coming into this season, the GNAC selected Dean to finish in ninth place in the standings. “We are coming, and we are going to show this year what we are about,” Palmer said.
Palmer also gives a lot of credit to head coach Joseph Campbell for the success the Bulldogs are having. “He is very good at grounding us, whenever we are at our high or lows, he is able to ground us and keep our heads straight,” Palmer explained. “He always is challenging us to show how good we are. In my case, the past four years we have had talent, but we have not been able to show it because we had not been willing to show it with the extra effort,” Palmer continued. “He stressed you have the talent, but you have to be willing to put in the work and I think this year we are willing,” Palmer finished.
As of press time, Palmer leads Dean with five goals on the season. However, the team shows good depth as the individual goal-scoring leadership is balanced across several players. “It is a team game and a team performance, and the statistics reflect that perfectly,” Palmer talked about. Palmer gives credit to the amount of talented players around him that make the team balanced. “If you were to tell me in 2019 that the program would look like this now, I would not believe you,” Palmer continued.
It was challenging when Palmer arrived in 2019 because they were missing pieces on the field, but have taken a big step forward since.
Despite soccer not being as popular in the United States compared to other countries, Palmer still fell in love with the game because of his mother. “From a young age, I loved it and my mother played DII soccer at Saint Anselm College, so I grew up with a ball on my feet,” Palmer explained.
“I know the time commitment it takes, and I was confident Luke would be able to manage it successfully and he did that far better than I ever did. I am so proud of how much he has grown both on and off the field,” Luke’s mother, Katy Palmer said.
While Palmer’s father was more interested in baseball, he still loved all sports and coached him in his soccer leagues when he was younger. Palmer tends to repeat a lot of tips his father taught him and would like to go into coaching at the collegiate level when he graduates in December.
“I think the coaching side, including his D coaching license, coaching premier soccer, his coaching business, and working closely with Coach Campbell really made him a much smarter and more capable player on the field,” Luke’s father, Rob Palmer explained.
While Palmer understands the criticism of soccer being boring, he encourages people to watch more games and look for the small details that make it fun. “You have to watch the right game. With the World Cup being here in 2026, from now until then, soccer is going to boom,” Palmer mentioned. “You have to go to a game and see the atmosphere because sometimes on television it does get boring,” Palmer continued.
“It is a game of chances and a lot of “almost”. When you are attacking, you have to find where the openings are. I would say in American football, if the score is 14-7, that is basically 2-1, and a lot of score lines in soccer is also 2-1,” Palmer concluded.