Haylee Oleary '18 Recruiting Profile

I started playing soccer at four years old when my mother decided that my brother and I needed to run off some energy.  She found the local YMCA recreational league and signed us up.  My mom told me that other parents would comment on my natural abilities and my aggressiveness with the ball.  Coaches noticed too.  I played several positions but found that I was best at right or left forward because I was adept with both feet. I simply fell in love with getting the ball past the keeper and in the net.  I moved to AYSO club soccer and evolved as a player there but I craved a more competitive travel club so my school coaches connected me with the Arizona Soccer Club Thunder in Gilbert, AZ.  It was such a good fit that within two weeks on the team, the girls voted me captain!  I appear shy and I don’t say a lot when I first meet people, but on the bench or on the field, I am very vocal and love to be involved so I talk and encourage.  I try to motivate and support my teammates and communicate positively on and off the field. I started playing on the ’00 team and loved it.  Bayern Munich recently purchased my club and several American youth soccer clubs across the country.  I was selected 1 of 22 ladies nationwide to play on the Bayern Munich junior ladies national team at Surf Cup in 2016.  The AZ Soccer club's ’99 coach often had her older team train with mine and she asked me to play up and sub for her older players in several tournaments. The parents and the girls welcomed me and eventually I moved to that team full time.  The older team motivates me and they made me a better player. 

Currently, I attend Desert Vista High School in Phoenix. Arizona.  My varsity team got to state finals twice in the past three years.  We held the state championship title until a tough loss this past school season.  My freshman year I led the Junior Varsity team in goals scored and I didn’t start until mid-season!  I also won a community sponsored award for my contributions on and off the field. I have earned the Most Valuable Player award, too.  Coaches say they like my positive leadership style and they call me graceful but aggressive.  I believe these qualities make me stand out.  I like to think ahead about where the ball could and should be.  I am by no means a selfish player.  Don’t get me wrong, I will take the shot, but if my teammate has a better chance I get as much satisfaction from setting her up well as I do from scoring myself.  I use both feet with confidence, but I do prefer my right.  My teammates know me for my header goals.  The outgoing senior players gave fun gifts to the younger players.  They gave me a frog figurine because they say I have “mad hops”.  I love a good corner kick because I love to get up high and push it in for a goal.   

I plan to get my degree in Criminology or Criminal Justice and eventually be in the F.B.I.  I took a Criminal Justice class in high school that really sparked my interest in forensics and investigative work.  I am detail oriented and think that will help me as I move into the field of law enforcement.  I don’t have much free time between school and soccer, but when I do I love to hang out with friends, shop at the mall, watch basketball games, and got to movies – typical teenage stuff.  I have many friends from soccer, but I also have some long-time friends from grade school and I like to connect with them whenever I can.   

I am so excited for this next chapter of my life to begin in college with soccer being a huge part of my next four years.  I am really looking to play on a team where I can continue to mature and learn as a player, with teammates who hold game and school standards high, and with a coach who supports and motivates me on the field, but also a program that supports me in academics and personal development.  I aspire to become the best player I can be and I know that I will give my all on the field, do my best to support and connect with my teammates, and work hard in the classroom during my college career.  Thank you in advance for reviewing my profile and for your consideration for your 2018 women’s soccer program.