Personal Statement
Hello Coach. My name is Reid Hunter from Blythewood South Carolina. I am a 6' 1"' tall and 180lbs. I am the Starting Goalkeeper for the South Carolina United Battery U-16 Development Academy Team and the starting Varsity Goalkeeper for Blythewood High School. I am proud to say my club team was the Southeastern pre Academy National Champions for 2012. I was the starting Goalkeeper for the ODP State Team in 2010, 2011 and 2012. I started for the 2012 ODP Region III Team, the South Carolina United FC Club All-star Team where we traveled to Germany and I am happy to have won MVP for the tour. I was also fortunate enough to be selected to represent the ODP Region III Team in Guadalajara Mexico and the South Carolina United Battery U16 Development Academy team in the Showcase in Phoenix AZ at age 13.
This Summer I am working as a lifeguard at the Windermere Club for the second season so I’m keeping up with my fitness by swimming every day, working out with my Soccer Team Tuesdays and Thursdays and getting one on one training each week.
You may know that two years ago, while starting for my U-16 Development Academy Team, I was the only freshman named to my High School Varsity team, beating out two seniors and one Junior for the job. That year I was the starting goalkeeper and named 2011-2012 Player of The Year. In 2012-2013, I continued play as the starting goalkeeper for The SC United Battery U-16 Development Academy team. In 3013-2014, I left the Academy and rejoined my Blythewood High School team as the starting goalkeeper. This is how this past season turned out.
· Most regular season wins in school history.
· Region IV, Class 4-A Champions
· Best Region finish in class 4-A in school history with a 9-1 record and finished in 1st place.
· We won the Sandhill's Soccer Classic for the first time in school history getting off to our first 5-0 start.
· Lowest goals against average in school history .96 out of 28 games.
· Most Clean sheets in one season in school history.
· Highest team finish in class 4-A in school history.
For the 1st time the team made it to the 3rd round of the State playoff.
· Highest final team ranking in class 4-A.
Ranked 7th in the state out of 52 teams.
I have been consistently ranked among the top 3 Goalkeepers in the South Atlantic Region by TopDrawer Soccer.
I am the oldest of 4 children and my parents are Henry and Dr. Yolanda Hunter. I give them all the credit for who and what I am today. My goal is to earn a degree at a 4 year university and to play soccer. As with everything I do, I want to play at the highest competitive level possible.
I like to think that I have always been a hard worker, on and off the pitch. I constantly strive to improve my game through camps, 1 on 1 training and strength and conditioning. I'm coachable and enjoy being around people who have the same aspiration and work ethic as I do. Thanks to my parents, I have a strong appreciation for the importance of hard work, a good education and giving back to my community. As coach Vince Lombardi said, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary."
No other position in sport requires such a combination of consistency, excellence and leadership. Courage, confidence, leadership, consistency and sometimes even crazy. These are all are words used to describe a soccer goalkeeper. This is without a doubt one of the most demanding and mentally challenging positions in all of sports. From saving goals, shot stopping to dealing with crosses, distribution to organizing the defense. The responsibilities of the goalkeeper extend far beyond just standing between the posts. To be effective, I must participate in the prevention of the development of goal scoring chances inside and outside of the penalty area having to be mentally and tactically involved during the entire game no matter what my involvement. One of my favorite quotes is, “The key is not the will to win… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Bobby Knight
I believe l am the athlete, born to play the position of goalkeeper.
