Personal Statement
Hello, my name is Maxim Kogan and I am currently attending Grafton High School as a sophomore. Academics are something that hold a special place for me, with my mom and dad both being very successful in school. They have installed this drive into me, the idea that you have the ability to do great things. With these ideologies on me for the past several years, I have grown to become someone who is not only expected to preform in the classroom by others, but I demand a very high level of effort and success from myself. I thoroughly enjoy learning new things; school for me isn’t something I find boring or repetitive. On the contrary, I feel that I thrive in a classroom setting and look forward to lessons and the opportunities they bring. This year, I am currently taking 4 honors classes; English and History are both honors classes for sophomore students, whereas I am currently in French and Math classes with high school juniors. I am also taking mandatory biology class due to the school requirements, but I find it useful and informative. Currently, I am a straight A student, and am looking to make honor roll for the third consecutive semester. For me grades mean lot; they show character, determination, and a person’s will to go above and beyond what is expected. These are the reasons I set these expectations for myself; to show what it really takes to be successful in and out of the classroom.
Athletically I am a very versatile athlete. I have played many sports throughout the years including; football, soccer, cross-country, basketball, competitive swimming, track, and baseball. But out of all the sports, football is my hands down favorite. There are so many things I could say about football; it is my passion in life. It is something that I wake up thinking about and go to bed dreaming about. For the past four years I have been completely submerged in the sport, learning everything I can about both professional and college teams. I have been studying the game non-stop; learning about formations, play calling, and even personnel packages. All of these skills have helped me develop into a person who doesn’t just play the game, but into someone who understands all the layers of this sport. I personally play wide receiver, and through all my studying I have been able to improve my performance on the field. I can analyze different coverages from my stance, read a corners position on the line and identify the best way to best it. For me football is a sport where to be the best, you have to be more than just an athlete. You have to understand certain situations and how to deal with adversity. Besides my knowledge of the game, I am a relentless, hard worker who will train to improve his game any time I can. I make it a point to come out on the field before anyone else and put in more time and effort in practice than anyone else. I understand that some people are just gifted, but I never let anyone out work me, whether it is on the field for special teams, offensive reps, or one on ones. My competitive side sometimes gets the best of me, but it pushes me to train harder, faster, and with more passion, which I feel are very important for a sport like football. Overall, it is my dream to play college football at a competitive level, and I promise that I will give everything I have to achieve this goal. Finally, to sum up my journey and my goals I would like to leave you with a quote from someone I look up to as an athlete, someone who had to work for everything they ever got, Julian Edelman, “There is only two things you can do when someone says you’re not good enough. You can prove them right or you can prove them wrong”.
