Personal Statement
Update: Looking to 2016!
I will be graduating 2015, but will not be putting out my applications until academic year 2016. I will reapply for college and soccer eligibility for the 2016 school year. I will continue to play for the Spartans FC, an NPSL team in Portland, Oregon. I will be deferring the academic year 2015 to pursue some opportunities for training and potential professional tryouts. I realize that it can affect my NCAA eligibility if I get picked up, but if not I feel it can be an amazing year to grow and refine my goalkeeping skills. I believe that this experience will make be a stronger player and valuable asset to a team. I will update my information as things progress. I hope you will continue to follow me in the upcoming year.
A brief overview:
The field is the place that reflects my skills as a goalie, my field presence speaks for its self. I am the type of player to give 100% in whatever I'm doing to improve. I am committed to being successful in school and sports.
Academics:
As a student athlete, I have maintained a 3.4 gpa. I was enrolled in a program called Running Start which allows high school students to earn college credits. I am currently taking the remainder of classes to earn my the AA degree. The exposure of the challenging classes and a college campus environment has been a positive experience. Since graduating high school, I have returned to my love for music which has changed my career choice. I want to pursue a career as a sound/audio engineer.
Early Beginnings:
Throughout the years playing sports, I was consistently told that I was a teachable athlete and responded well to instruction. I never understood exactly what that meant when I was younger, but I believe that is why I have come so far in a very short time. I am a quick study! A quick review of my soccer experience will help you to see my devotion and passion for being the best, which is an asset to any team. Since I was 4 years old, I have played club soccer, I was usually slotted as a defender due to my size, I was always the tallest kid on my team. In 7th grade, I decided to try goalkeeping. I had never received formal training, so my skill level was limited. I picked up tips from previous coaches in directing our goalies and through observing other goalies. During this time many coaches encouraged me to get more training, I was told repeatedly how talented I was, a natural.
Turning Point:
My freshman year I played soccer for Camas High School, it was a good experience, but I realized that the training was limited to 2 months out of the year. I felt that I was missing a basic skill set to build into a solid player. A natural talent does not go very far without a solid foundation in key goalkeeping skills. It wasn't until my late freshman year that I actually received formal goalie training with Tommy, a club coach and goalkeeper himself, he offered to work with me. Tommy felt that I had a lot of potential and wanted to help me to develop my raw talent.
I played on Pacific Fire FC out of Vancouver, Wa. Tommy was offered a position as goalie/defender coach for a men's semi-pro team, the Spartans. It was through this connection that I started as 1 of 5 goalies that trained with the team. 6 months later I was called to play for the team during the last game of the Fiesta Mexicana tournament. The game came to pk's and it was my day to shine, I blocked a kick which put the team ahead for the win. From that point, I was the starting keeper. During this time we also won the OPSL division championship. The Spartans are now a NPSL team as of March 2014 since the change, I am currently sharing goalie time with a goalie that had returned from college.
Current Position:
I made a choice to stay with the Spartans and not go back to high school soccer due to the level of play and opportunity to receive specific goalkeeping training. As much as I would like to play for my high school, it made more sense for my development to train with the Spartans.
Conclusion:
I feel its important that you know a little of my background, especially since I am coming into the arena of competitive soccer in university. Upon making a commitment to this position, I have worked hard at developing my skills. Working with the club, I have become a quality goalkeeper. The coaching staff has repeatedly suggested that I go pro, it would be an honor and a great experience, but the desire to play in a challenging college program makes sense for me personally.
In the short time that I have been training, I have changed drastically as a player. I am becoming the goalkeeper that others saw in me before I was able to realize it myself. I believe that if I can come this far in just a few years with proper training, how I far I can go with a great soccer program.
The goalkeeper has the best and the worst job, when you lose its feels as if its all your fault, but when you make that game winning save, its the best job in the world. There is nothing like it.
The "amateur" videos give you a glimpse of a scrawny tall goalkeeper, but they are not a true reflection of my ability.
I look forward to any opportunities to discuss my future with your school.
Sincerely, Jason Hines
