Benjamin Hamel '22 Recruiting Profile

INTENSITY, RESILIENCE, AMBITIOUS, MENTALLY TOUGH. These are the words that describe me as a student athlete, as a student and as the college player I want to be.

My name is Benjamin Hamel and I am currently a rising junior at New York City’s most selective and rigorous public high school (Stuyvesant High School). I have been playing club soccer since second grade with Asphalt Green Soccer Club, was captain of my middle school team where we won Manhattan Championships, recognized as the NYC middle school MVP in 8^th grade, and have been a starter for my high school team since freshman year. Across all of these experiences, I have maintained not just a starter status as center defensive back on my club team and center mid on my high school team, but am rarely substituted as my intensity, leadership and strategic sense about the game carries the team forward.

I thrive in competition. It excites me and brings out the best in me. I take my role on any team seriously and realize that my performance, direction and support of the team are important to taking the whole team forward. Coaches tell me I am a “difference-maker," "play with an “unmatched level of intensity,” "the ultimate teammate" and a "very coachable player." I like to think that these are qualities that I have on and off the field, as soccer has taught me a lot about myself and the kind of person I want to be.

It is through my soccer experiences (wins, losses, disappointments) that I have learned the importance of resilience, setting goals and not giving up. I hope to go to a rigorous academic college where playing soccer will help me continue to build my character while contributing to the larger team goals. I couldn’t imagine not having soccer in my life, and everything that goes with it: the camaraderie, energy and competition that is important to me as a player and in life.

I hope that we can all be back on the pitch soon. I know I miss it.