Owen Leighton '20 Recruiting Profile

My name is Owen Leighton and I am in the graduating class of 2020. I play soccer for both my local club team and my high school team. I am a very versatile player so I play as an outside back as well as a center back or even a winger. I consider some of my strongest qualities as a player to be that I am fast, intense, physical, have a good/accurate shot, and I never give up.  Off the ball, I am an effective leader and I care a lot about how my entire team plays as well as how I play.  In fact, I was the Captain of my previous club team, Benfica.  I'm proud of our successes while playing for Benfica--we moved up all the way from division 6 to division 2 and the last season I played for them, we managed to go undefeated and finish first in our league.  Last year I made the decision to change to the Nomads team, with Coach Ernie Santa Cruz, as it offered more challenging competition in a State league, as well as more opportunities for play in college showcase tournaments.  I am happy with this decision and feel I have continued to improve and excel at the sport and as an athlete in general.  This next season, our entire 02 Nomads Boys team, along with our coach Ernie Santa Cruz, is moving to Phoenix Premier, where we will, again, be competing at the State level.   I am looking forward to another year of great competition!  With regard to school, I take academics very seriously, and currently have a 4.0 GPA with several AP and honors classes.  It is challenging, but I enjoy it.  As I look to the future, I'm interested in schools that would continue to challenge me academically, but also provide me an opportunity to continue my passion for soccer.  I am striving to earn a college scholarship for soccer and academics. My current areas of interest include Graphic Design, Architecture and Engineering.