Team CSUSA

Henrik`s college career started at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2018. The school is one of the highest ranked NCAA D1 schools in the country and is known for its great soccer program. After one season at UNC, Henrik made a transfer to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. SMU competes in the American Athletic Conference in NCAA D1. SMU had a stellar 2019 season with 18 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw. Henrik started in all 21 games for the Mustangs and helped anchor an SMU defense that allowed an AAC-low 17 goals. He also scored 3 goals and had 3 assists and was awarded a spot on the AAC All-Rookie Team.

In 2020, Henrik returned to Norway to play professionally and continue his studies in Oslo. After being injured with an ACL-injury that year, Henrik made an impressive comeback for the 2021 season, and played 29 games for OBOS Liga club Grorud, scored 4 goals and had 1 assist from a center-back position. In 2022, Henrik signed for Eliteserie-side Jerv and played 12 games on the top level in Norway, 9 as a starter.

In December 2023, Henrik completed his bachelor`s degree in business administration at OsloMet University. In his studies from college, he had a 3.74 GPA (highest GPA is 4). In addition, Henrik also attained his UEFA B-license in Coaching while he was injured in 2020, earning valuable knowledge and experience from the coaching field.

Lier IL was Henrik`s childhood club in Norway, although he made his move to the academy of Eliteserie-side Strømsgodset already at the age of 11. As Henrik rose through the academy-ranks in Strømsgodset, he signed his first contract with the club when he was 16 years old. While training and competing with the first team from an early age, he struggled to establish himself on the first team. While playing many friendly games, he played 1 official cup game, having 2 assists as a fullback. In 2017, Henrik therefore went on two loan spells in Strømmen IF and Fredrikstad FK – both clubs in second tier OBOS-liga. Henrik attended Drammen Toppidrettslinje and represented Norway`s youth national teams in 54 games (U15`s – U19`s) in the same period.

After the two loans spells, Henrik was introduced to the unique concept of attending college as a student-athlete by Nicolay Netskar in the beginning of 2018. After choosing CSUSA`s services, he left for college in the summer of 2018. “Personally, I was triggered by the idea of something completely new, and I needed to regain the spark and love for football. Life as a student-athlete in the US, with facilities many pro clubs in Norway only can dream of, excellent grass pitches, good friendships, and lot`s of travelling, and attending college is a life-time experience I would never be without. It gave me a lot of growth and development as a player, but more importantly as a human being.”

Favorite place in the USA:

Panama City Beach, Florida

Favorite former college athlete:

Michael Jordan

Favorite moment in college career:

Scoring the equalizer in the quarter finals of the NCAA D1 National Tournament against Virginia was special, but the best moment must be the celebration after our sixth consecutive win against Duke away. After starting the season with 5 wins, everyone believed the stellar ACC-side Duke would put a stop on our winning streak. Playing the whole 90 minutes, we won 2-0, and I can by far say that I have never been that happy after winning a game before.

Favorite quote:

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” – Eckhart Tolle