Osric Alig '24 Recruiting Profile

Hello Coaches.

First things first, I will start by saying that my greatest passion is soccer. I’m an exceptional student, a gifted athlete, and I have competed in multiple sports. I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to. I am not flashy or showy and I pride myself in being a good sportsman. I strive to be the kind of teammate that I want to have on my own team. I hold myself to high standards both on and off the field.  I am constantly pushing to improve and expand my knowledge and skills. Plus, I can confidently say that I have been and always will be the hardest worker on every team I’m on. I love to compete, I play hard, and I love a good game. I am looking to continue to grow and play at the highest level.

I have been passionate about soccer since I began playing when I was four years old. I know you have probably heard this a lot, but let me tell you how I’m different. Since I first began playing, I would watch Premiere League and World Cup games and play them on repeat. And I wouldn’t just watch to see who would win, I would study the teams, the moves, the players, the positions, the formations, all of the details. I would even imagine that I was the manager. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the tactics and strategies. The more I learned about the game of soccer, the more I loved everything about it. As I grew older and the sizes of my soccer teams grew, I continued to look for ways to learn, compete, and play at the highest level possible. I played on the most competitive teams and my abilities and game IQ turned me into a utility player. I understood the job of each of the positions and I would go wherever I was needed to help my team win. I became skilled and experienced in every position. I even trained as a field player and a goalie. 

I am currently in my senior year of high school at Washington Community High School in Washington, Illinois. You will not find very many high school sports statistics for me because I have lived in Germany for the last three and a half years, and right up to less than two weeks before school started. They don’t do competitive sports in the German schools. I knew this when my father received an offer with his job to move overseas. He asked if I would be okay with moving and missing all of my high school years. Even though I knew it would be challenging, I wanted the experience. I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to learn and train and play soccer in Germany with Germans.

Playing soccer in Germany was my greatest challenge and became one of my greatest achievements. A few months after moving to Germany I suffered an injury and tore my hip tendon. I couldn’t train or play for almost six months and I was crushed. But I knew it was just an obstacle I would need to overcome. I didn’t want to lose my momentum, so I used that as an opportunity to come back even stronger mentally and physically. Plus I decided to triple my lessons with my German language tutor. When I finished therapy I began training with a coach-trainer who works with the national teams. He saw my potential and referred me to a strength training program that was also used by professional Bundesliga players. I even met a few players when I was there. I was determined and the strength trainers were impressed with my progress. They introduced me to a private trainer for professional players who also believed I had a “spark that couldn’t be taught”. He wanted to work with me and he also let me practice and train with the mens team he coached. I was still too young to join the team without the right visa. I was so glad I crash-coursed my German, because I learned so much from him and he only spoke in German. I felt rewarded for my work when I attended a camp and I was recruited to join a Landesliga team in Mannheim, SC Pfingstberg-Hochstätt. I was regularly in their starting eleven for the next four seasons. That higher level of competition was exactly what I was looking for and I enjoyed playing with others who understood the game like I did. And I was also glad again that I learned German because many did not speak English, especially the referees.

I am very self motivated and I push myself to learn more and develop more as a player. I have learned how to analyze my performance through watching game videos and collecting data with my GPS tracker. I enjoy seeing the results and focusing on what I did well and where I need to improve. It helps me plan my individual training goals. I have looked for every training opportunity to help me grow. I’m flexible, I’m coachable, and I can take constructive criticism. I attended an intensive training camp in London for three weeks this past July. The camp was meant to simulate the rigorous schedule of a professional footballer. At the camp a National team scout and trainer pulled me aside and said I was a very good Winger-Mid, but with my natural skills I should also look at being a Fullback. I have endurance, speed, precision, hustle, and I’m well-rounded. He also said he would have me on his team if I had a UK passport. 

When asked what my major field of study is, I will have to answer Sports Management, Sports Business, or a similar focus. I will do well academically in whatever direction I decide to take. My future plans are Soccer and there are a few related paths I want to explore. I am interested in a university that has multiple options with a sports emphasis. I know I enjoy sharing my passion for the game with others. For the past few years at my school in Germany, during my free periods I volunteered as an assistant to the PE teacher. I had a lot of fun with the classes. I also volunteered to coordinate games for the primary and middle school students as a recess monitor. And I organized and coached an after school soccer camp for the kids as well. It was all very rewarding. The teachers and administrators said that not only am I athletic, but I am bright, mature, and a natural leader. When I returned to my high school in Illinois, some of the younger soccer players saw me practicing by myself. They asked how to do some of the skills and for advice. I was more than happy to talk with them and show them. I think the better they become obviously the better the team will be. They are the future of the team. But also the more they understand about soccer, they may grow to appreciate it and love it even more. I am excited that soccer is becoming more and more popular in the US. I love that the culture is growing and I’m looking forward to contributing to that growth.

Thank you for your time and allowing me to introduce myself.