Erin Gruber '15 Recruiting Profile

A dream I have had for awhile now would be to play college soccer, hopefully at a D1 school. Before high school I had the dream to make varsity as a freshman. When I was younger I dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player, but I have become more realistic now. I still have the hope that if I work hard enough I can make it, but I also have a plan for a more probable outcome which connects to my goals. My goal is to pull together my dream, aspirations and goals with a realistic plan and therefore I would like to go to college and play college soccer at the highest level I myself am capable of. Set high standards for grades and still enjoy the college experience and have fun. My goal is to graduate at the top ten percent of my class and get a steady, well-paying job that I can support myself with.  Long term plans of course are to get married and have kids. I have always strived for great things, things that are possibly out of my reach, like playing professional soccer, but I have struggled in the past with self-confidence to really believe that I could accomplish the things I worked for, and therefore lots of the times I failed. Through high school I have learned a lot about myself. I learned that I don't like change, when leaving my middle school for high school, I was crushed. I learned that around new people, I'm not my usual outgoing, bubbly self. I learned that in the past when up against teammates I thought were better than me, I used to shrink and back away, not really believing in myself. Through my years of high school I really started to think about these weaknesses that I have had and decided to work on them. I still am not a big fan of change but when I go off to college I know it will be a huge change, and I am going to make it an even bigger change to push myself. I want to go to a huge college, with tons of kids and a big campus and lots of choices of classes. I want to be out of my comfort zone so I can experience something completely different and really expand myself. During high school I started to let myself be myself around people I didn't know. I started to be more outgoing and talk to different people when I had the chance, and it helped with classes I didn't know a lot of people in and when I have to give speeches and talk in front of the class and with my soccer team also. I became closer with the girls on my team when I opened up and this helped out with my own team issues and our team dynamic. I have bonded and made good friends with team mates because I forced myself to come out of my safety zone and just be me. Lastly, I thought why would I ever want to back away from someone who is better than me? For freshman year soccer tryouts I was scared out of my mind. I tried very hard none the less, but I could tell that when I came up against the older girls, I was more hesitant. Freshman year I made JV1, an awesome accomplishment that I actually was upset about. I was bugged that I hadn't made varsisty, which I shouldn't because most freshman don't make varsity, but I am the hardest on myself compared to anyone. I wasn't even selected to be in the group of which the varsity coaches looked more closely at for a varsity spot. I thought maybe I wasn't good enough, all sorts of doubts running through my head. During my high school season on JV1, I realized that making JV1 was an accomplishment. It was something I should be excited and feel good about. My parents were a big part in helping me understand that I did have something to be proud about. That season, I started having more and more confidence. I scored the first goal of my high school season in our first game, and I was the first to score. From there on, I had confidence that I was good. I wasn't cocky or a ball hog, but I knew that I did have a talent. Throughout the season, the varsity head coach started asking me to play up with his team. I was asked several times and got some playing time with the varsity girls. I was also asked by the varsity coach to play down with the JV2 team because they were so short of a roster, they needed all the help they could get. In my freshman year I played a total of 22 games out of the 24 games I am allowed to play in a high school season. I was used where ever they needed me and I got an exceptional amount of playing time, that helped me improve my skills and my self-confidence.. Sophomore year, I came in with more confidence than freshman year. I gave it all I had, 100% and I worked even harder when I was up against the older girls. That year I made varsity and I couldn't have been happier. Our first game I did not start, but after that I started every game for the rest of the season, except for 1 or 2 occasions. I learned that when I worked my hardest and didn't shy away, that's when my goals and dreams came true. I love being a team player, being a positive influence and also never afraid of learning from someone else.