Johan Sanchez ‘20 Recruiting Profile

Personal Statement

My name is Johan Sanchez and this is my story.  I have a pretty big family but my parents aren’t together. I am the oldest of 4 siblings; 3 boys and a sister. Since my dad is hardly around  that makes me the man of the house. Being the man of the house comes with many responsibilities. Meaning always having to help around the house and with my siblings. Also having to balance my grades, study sessions, and soccer all at the same time. 

My mom doesn’t work because she is too busy taking care of  5 kids. I take care of my siblings homework and teach them because my mom is not good with school. One of my brothers is on the border of being diagnosed with Autism so I try and help him more than the rest because he demands it. I try and finish my homework before soccer practice so I can take the time to help my siblings with theirs. There are nights when I finish helping my brothers first and then stay up all night to finish my homework. These are the times when I do awful on my quizzes and tests because I am too tired.  Most nights, I try to get enough sleep because I have to wake up extra early to walk my brothers to school before I find my way to the metro station. My commute to school is about 2 hours because I have to catch a bus to the train. I sometimes barely get to school on time if I don't miss my train. 

 I don’t complain because my parents gave me the privilege to go to a private school that has a good academic and soccer program.  My father works so hard in order to provide for my family. My father’s paychecks aren’t the greatest because work isn’t bringing in as much money so there are some months he stays without money to spend. We struggle but manage as a family with our money problems. There are days I don’t eat because I have to give my brothers my money for food. Every time I walk them to school I make sure they have food before I leave them because I don’t want them to go through the whole day with an empty stomach. I have around 5 dollars a week so I hand it over to them so that they can get something to eat. I usually starve until after I get home but somethings I go the whole day without eating because we don’t have food at home. 

I have to be the great big brother and a role model to siblings and cousins so I don’t want to set the wrong example. My uncles failed at setting examples for us younger ones but I took my own route and want to prove that I will succeed. We live in a terrible area filled with gun violence, drugs, and gangs and a lot of my friends went in that direction but I chose school and soccer. 

I have so much passion for soccer. This is the sport my family and I grew up playing and fell in love with at a very young age. I take soccer as a way to disconnect myself from the world I live and use it to strengthen my character as a leader and a teammate. I’m so grateful for the sport of soccer because it has allowed me to meet amazing people that I call family. Soccer is a time I get for myself when I’m stressed out. When I’m out on the field everything else around me is nothing to me. On the field, my team puts all our struggles aside and we fight and I am proud to say we are ranked 6th in the nation.