Jordon D'Andre Garrick (born 15 July 1998) is a Jamaican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

. He will become a free agent on 30 June 2024. Born in Jamaica, he moved to England as a child where he began playing football and eventually joined

Ossett Albion Ossett Albion Association Football Club was an English football club. They played at Queen's Terrace in Ossett, in West Yorkshire, more commonly known as Dimplewells, the area of Ossett the ground is situated in. History The club was formed in ...

. In November 2015, he joined Swansea City and made his professional debut four years later.

Early life

Garrick was born in Jamaica before his family settled in the village of

Liversedge Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward is ...

in Yorkshire, England. He attended

Whitcliffe Mount School Whitcliffe Mount School is a mixed secondary school located in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England. History It was established as Cleckheaton Secondary School in 1908 in temporary premises on Brooke Street. The school moved to its current loc ...

Cleckheaton Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is a ...

before studying sport and exercise science at

Huddersfield New College Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Angela Williams. On 17 May 2016 the ...

. As a teenager, Garrick played football before taking up

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

at the age of 16. He began playing rugby league for local amateur side Dudley Hill where the coach had ties to

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

. He began training with the Bulls, playing as either a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

or winger. Garrick came close to giving up football after the Bulls expressed an interest in signing him before being persuaded to keep playing by his mother and the manager of his amateur side.

Career

Garrick played for Northern Premier Division One side

before being encouraged by his coaches to attend a trial with

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

. The two-week trial proved successful and he signed a two-year deal with the Welsh side, only a year since contemplating leaving football to pursue a rugby league career. He was initially assigned to the club's academy and under-21 development side where he scored eight goals in ten matches during his first season with the under-18s. He made his professional debut for the club as a substitute in place of

Barrie McKay Barrie McKay (born 30 December 1994) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker or as a winger for Heart of Midlothian. McKay has previously played for Rangers, Greenock Morton, Raith Rovers, Nottingham Forest, Swansea Cit ...

during a 3–1 victory over

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in the first round of the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

on 13 August 2019. He made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

debut a week later during a 3–1 victory over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, winning the penalty for his side's second goal. Garrick described his debut as emotional and stated "I had a few tears in my eyes to be honest. It was emotional because it's been a long time coming". He scored his first goal for Swansea in an EFL Cup tie against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

on 28 August 2019. On 1 February 2021, Garrick joined

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season. On 11 August 2022, he would join Lincoln City on a season-long loan deal. He would make his Lincoln City debut on 13 August, coming off the bench against

. He was recalled by Swansea City on 5 January 2023 having played 16 times in all competitions for Lincoln City. On the same day he joined

for an undisclosed fee signing an 18 month deal. He was released following the second of back-to-back relegations at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Style of play

Garrick has described himself as a player with "pace and skill" and has credited his rugby league background with improving his physicality which he stated "gave me an edge over some players who were older than me in non-league."

Career statistics

Honours

Swansea City U23 * Premier League Cup: 2016–17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrick, Jordan 1998 births Living people Jamaican men's footballers Ossett Albion A.F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football wingers People educated at Whitcliffe Mount School