Jaeden Pugh '24 Recruiting Profile

My name is Jaeden Pugh, and I am a 06 athletic scholar. As of now, I am a senior in the class of 2024 attending Sierra Canyon High School with a core GPA of 4.53 as of my last junior year. I am writing specifically to let you know my commitment, devotion, dedication, passion, and love for soccer, as well as my education. I want to be part of a successful team that wants to work hard, have good sportsmanship, stay positive, and win.

I graduated my grammar school as valedictorian, making history and being written up in the newspaper. Athletically, I was captain of the soccer, basketball, and football teams from 5^th through 8^th grade, 4 consecutive years in a row, earning MVP awards every year.

Additionally, I started Tae Kwon Do at the age of 3 years old, earning up to my 3rd-degree black belt by age 11. Master Chang made the exception of allowing me to start Tae Kwon Do earlier than the typical age of 3 due to my strong listening skills, discipline, agility, strength, and following directions. I was teaching Tae Kwon Do at the age 6 years old when I earned my 1st-degree black belt; teaching all kids older than me between the ages of 9 and 13 years old.

Also, my parents enrolled me in gymnastics from age 3 until 13 years old. I remained locked in and focused on all my academics and extracurricular athletic activities until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of facilities in March 2020. I maintained stellar grades and persevered throughout this time where I also experienced the death of my two grandmothers who both lived with us. I am very adaptable and adjustable experiencing trauma from my family loss and transitioning to online learning; still, I thrived, flourished, and prospered.

I am following a similar academic and athletic path in my high school journey by maintaining straight "A" grades. I have taken several AP classes over the years successfully completing and passing them all. I have done so well with passing AP courses that I have received several college board awards. I wanted to inform you briefly of my current and past academic and athletic accomplishments.

As a person, I am very persistent, always showing up early and staying late. I am loyal, always motivating the team whether we are winning, or losing. I constantly make many sacrifices due to my dedication to the sport, but I also always have fun and stay loving no matter the result. I love the sport and am very competitive with a strong work ethic and God-given talent. As a player, I stand up to all my opponents and challenge them, always staying light on my feet. I am a very courageous player and always strategically draw in my opponents freeing up space for teammates. I am continuously scanning the field, having precise clarity and insight over the entire field, looking for opportunities.

I want to reinforce my main reason for reaching out to you all which is my love for soccer. My sole athletic interest is soccer and I have been playing the sport competitively for 14 years of my life in rec, club, and school simultaneously. I have grown up always being captain of my teams in any sport I played and have naturally been thrown into leadership positions. When I first joined club soccer, the coach visited my home and requested my parents to allow him to create a team around me, as his first recruited player. 

Presently my senior year of 2024, I am the captain of the varsity soccer team at Sierra Canyon High School, and for Oaks FC club as a winger and striker. I play the field vertically and horizontally with ease, have a powerful striker kick, and am capable of long-range passing and executing crossing abilities.  I have played varsity since a freshman, where we won the state championship for the first year ever at Sierra Canyon High School in 2021. I recently competed internationally in Sweden at the Gothia Cup for my club team where we played against 167 teams of different nations in my age group; here, I was able to lead and help my team reach the round of 16 where we were unfortunately eliminated. I have a great interest in attending your school and in your soccer program. I was hoping there is a chance that you could come watch me play. I hope that we can meet face-to-face or speak by phone at some point.

In closing, I want you to know that soccer is my passion, and I am a well-balanced athletic scholar who loves to win, compete, and play with passion and good sportsmanship. I am an Athletic Elite Player with excellent conditioning, excellent ball handling skills, strong, powerful legs, and excellent mental toughness (ability to stay focused determined, competitive spirit, ability to perform under pressure), I am strong and team-oriented driven. I have game intelligence, physical fitness, and a proper mindset. I am mastered in ball control, dribbling skills, passing accuracy and body control. Thank you for your time and consideration. Hoping to meet you soon.

Elite Athletic Scholar,

Jaeden Pugh

P.S. - Further descriptions of me given by coaches, teammates, family, and friends: