Alexander McGee '19 Recruiting Profile

My family members especially my parents and grandparents have had a huge impact on the person I have become today.  They have taught me the importance of honesty, respect, integrity and resilience ever since I was little and these traits have helped me succeed in sports, academics and in life.

Playing sports has been a large part of my life.  I started playing hockey and soccer at the early age of 3.  I decided to focus on soccer and have played on rep teams for the past seven years.  Early on in my soccer career I stepped up for my team to take on the position of goalie from Striker when we lost our goalie at a crucial time during our season.  I have been the goalie and captain for three different rep soccer teams and have led my teams to many league cup and regional tournament victories.  My time as goalie and captain has had a huge influence on me as a person. I gained valuable leadership skills, including the ability to motivate team members and the commitment to always doing what’s best for the team.

Although I have played soccer for 7 years I was introduced to the game of golf at the age of 9 when my dad signed me up for a one-week golf camp. Through this camp I learned the fundamentals of golf and from that point forward I was hooked.  My strong work ethic and unrelenting determination have helped me to continually improve with the goal of becoming the best golfer I can be. In order to do this I have developed tremendous internal focus that drives me every day to do whatever it takes to better myself as an athlete. These things include waking up at 5:30 in the morning to practice my short game in the backyard for an hour before school, practicing on average 40 hours a week on my golf game during the summer and lastly, spending 2 hours in the gym 5 nights a week to put myself in the best shape possible to achieve my athletic goals of getting recruited. Although I practice to the best of my ability I also believe in a well balanced life, meaning taking time to rest and relax as well as spending time with my friends and enjoying my other hobbies such as listening to music, and reading books about the history of different sports, as well as books on how to master the mental game of golf.

Through playing the sport of golf I have learned many things about myself as an individual person including the determination and commitment that it takes in order to reach your goals and win tournaments, as well as the patience that is needed to stay in the moment and not get ahead of yourself when you are in pressure situations. I have also learned the importance of optimism through the many obstacles that I have encountered in golf. For example in my junior year I made a quadruple bogey on the 15^th hole and lost the tournament by one shot. After this experience I felt like quitting golf, but during this moment I learned the value of taking the positives out of every situation both in golf and in life. So looking back on it I feel like that failure was the best thing that could’ve happened to me at the time as it taught me a very important life lesson that I use to my advantage today.

The lessons I’ve learned through playing golf have helped me face challenges in my life outside of the sport. Throughout my life I have had to deal with family issues such as my parents divorce and one of my close family members who has a mental illness. During these times I experienced a lot of stress and anxiety, but I fought through it by staying optimistic and focusing only on the positive things I have in my life. Through conquering these challenges I have become a much stronger person in character, sports, and academics.

As a student I take great pride in my academics and currently have a GPA of 3.6. I set many goals and have high standards with respect to my studies similar to the way I approach golf.  I strive to be the most well rounded person I can be both as a scholar and an athlete. My main goal for the rest of high school is to finish in the top ten in overall grade percentage.  I strongly believe I will achieve this goal throughout the focus, concentration and attention to detail that I put into my studies every night. My main goal for college is to study and complete an engineering degree either in the chemical or mechanical field. I strive to achieve this goal because math and sciences are my strongest subjects and I feel like I would excel in these fields to the best of my academic abilities.  So through my strong work ethic, determination, and leadership abilities I feel like I can be a valuable asset to your program as a scholar and an athlete.