Personal Statement
I started playing soccer at the age of 4. It didn't take long to figure out, with the help of the coach, that this team sport was actually a group of kids each playing one on one. Where you were on the field along with where your opponents were and where the ball was dictated how each played. The only real structured play came from set plays, a dead ball restart. As I got older, it became more and more apparent that I am built for football. I started playing football in the 3rd grade (I still played soccer through my freshman year of high school). Surprisingly, football is also a series of one on one match ups. The primary difference is the coach calling or signaling the plays. Now, the play comes in, the ball is snapped, I then have to find my assignment and either block them, move them, or protect them. Football is much like soccer, but every play is a set play, but there are times where there is a broken play or otherwise unexpected occurrences that I have to act based on where my opponents, teammates, and the ball are. Check me out, Google search Justin Ergang or go directly to Maxpreps.com and Hudl.com
I have excelled in school, with the exception of one semester as a freshman. I value my education. As proof, I have been in National Honor Society since the 7th grade and have continuously been on the honor roll (well, maybe not that one semester). As a junior, I had already taken all of the math classes that are offered at my school. I am currently taking my second foreign language class, Spanish. I have two years of German completed. Did I mention a 3.7 gpa? I am looking forward to college and all that it has to offer. I want to keep expanding my knowledge of the universe, but more importantly develop skills that will make me very employable and an asset to society. I am currently wanting to become a mechanical engineer, but I could be open to other opportunities that may not have presented themselves yet.
Outside of the classroom, I have been a Guthrie High School Pied Piper since I was a freshman (YouTube, search "Guthrie Pied Pipers" to check us out). We perform for Guthrie Schools, the public in general, and even travel to other school districts. I have been in a couple of school musicals as well. The last musical was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat where I played three roles; the Captain of the Palace Guard (Potiphar), one of Joseph's brothers (Naphtali), and one of Pharaoh's body guards. I am a member of the Spanish Club and the Breakfast Club at school.
I volunteer at the local youth shelter; sometimes bringing someone to church, watching a special football game on tv, or just spending time there with the kids. I go to church camp every summer, when not a camper I help behind the scenes mowing and taking out the trash, etc. and lately I have even began to be an assistant counselor for the younger kids.
Every football player dreams of playing in the NFL. College is the next step in the progression of making it as a professional. The NFL is a long shot for almost everyone, myself included. If I'm able to earn the opportunity, I cannot imagine passing on it. Either way, there is life after football. (That is why it is called the NFL, Not For Long.) My hope is to take my football career, college, and life experiences and shape them into an adult filled with a solid career, mentoring of young people, a spirit and an action of volunteerism and generosity, ultimately a full and wonderful life. My dad wrestled as a kid and up through high school. He still talks about the coaches that impacted his life and can't remember the names of the ones that didn't. Will you be a chapter in my autobiography?
