The summer before my senior year in high school is when my recruiting story begins. I am from Arlington Heights, IL, a large suburb of Chicago. Since the young age of seven I have been playing competitive soccer. From that moment on my love for the game of soccer only grew. In high school I continued to grow as a player and by my sophomore year I was starting for the Varsity program at St. Viator High School. By my junior year I was captain of a team contending for a State Championship. After a disappointing loss in the playoffs we regrouped for what would be a great senior year.
It wasn’t until after my junior year that I really got started with the recruiting process. I built myself a resume and sent it out to all the colleges I was interested in playing at. I got responses from some coaches and nothing from others. I continued to contact coaches who were interested throughout my senior year. We ended up winning the State Championship and I was awarded All-State and All-Area Player of the Year awards. That spring I was able to get a few coaches to come watch me at big club tournaments. However, a back injury sidelined me for what was most likely the most important weekend in my recruiting process. Due to the fact that I could not play a few colleges could only offer me the opportunity of a preferred walk on.
Ultimately, I decided to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In Champaign I was able to receive a top of the line education and play on a nationally ranked club team. In my four years we went to the National Championships three times with a runner up finish and a final four appearance. I do not regret my decision but sometimes I wonder what I could have become if I had the services of NCSA to lead me through the recruiting process. With all the experienced professionals at NCSA I believe my recruiting story would have been much different.