It’s seems like only a short time ago that 19-year-old Griffin Yow said goodbye to the United States and DC United, when he signed on with newly-promoted KVC Westerlo in the Belgian Pro League. In reality, the Virginian made the switch almost two years ago and has been enjoying his European adventure ever since.
This past season the winger broke into his team’s starting XI and has made the right side of the Westerlo field his own. In his first season, Yow never started but came off the bench on five occasions and contributed no goals.
This season however he has appeared for the team on 23 occasions thus far, starting in all but two of them, while also hitting the back of the net on seven occasions. It’s evident that he has settled in well in the Flemish part of Belgium.
“I really like it here,” the now 21-year-old told Yanks Abroad, continuing “The staff, the players, the coaches, upper management; everything is very good. They treat me very well, they’ve helped me get to where I am today so yeah, I love it here.”
When Yow penned the deal that brought him overseas, it was for four years. This summer will bring him to the half-way point in the contract. Currently Westerlo is also approaching the half-way point of the Pro League play-offs. With only the top team in the European group able to advance, fans in Westerlo feel that there is not much for their team to play for.
Yow disagrees.
“Me personally, I just want to be at my best every single game; even if it’s a difficult result or the team isn’t having our best game, I just want to make sure that I am giving my best. I want to leave everything out there on the field, even though some people will say that these games are kind of empty. My plan is to continue to show my best and continue the way that I have been throughout the season.”
Living in a somewhat remote part of Belgium, where not very much goes on, was something that the winger had to get used to.
“It’s nice [living in Belgium],” he admits. “The move here definitely brought some surprises. I definitely had to settle in; adjust to it. But I adjusted and I feel very good now.”
“I don’t want to call it boring but there’s not too much going on [in the area] so there aren’t a lot of distractions. So there’s a lot of time to rest and focus, and make sure that I’m prepared to be at my best.”
Coming to Europe means that a whole new world is at your feet but as a professional athlete with commitments to the team, traveling opportunities can be somewhat limited.
“Traveling around to all the away games you get to see different places. I’ve also been to France, to Paris just because everything is kind of close compared to America. It’s nice being around a bunch of different places.”
“For games that are over an hour away, Brugge for example, it’s nice to see these different places and experience different things. We check into hotels, so we do get a bit more time. I’m used to it because most of the games in America are overnight, pretty much every one of them.”
There are a fair few Americans playing in Belgium. Yow is teammates with fellow Yank, Bryan Reynolds. Mark McKenzie is not very far away in Genk and of course there is Marlon Fossey at Standard Liege and Kahveh Zahiroleslam at Sint Truiden.
“We don’t see them much, but when we play their team it’s always nice to have another American to chat with. Just to hear the American accent over here; it’s nice to hear that.”
Yow will most likely continue his contract with Westerlo in the new season but an important task comes first: there are still six more play-off games ahead of him and his team. This evening the team welcomes OH Leuven to Het Kuipje and the American will be looking to make another big contribution on the field of play.
What will the summer will hold for the young man? Time will tell.
