Zayd Soliman '19 Recruiting Profile

For anyone who has ever been passionate about being the best at something, I have lived this experience in club soccer. I enjoyed a good amount of success as a club soccer player, mostly because I can play in different field positions. Based on our team needs, I played as a winger, attacking midfielder and outside defender. My favorite position is the attacking midfielder. I play at FC Elk Grove platinum 1 team since 2011.  Our FC Elk Grove team made it to the regional championship twice. During 2015/2016, I was scouted by The NorCal  Player Development Program (PDP) staff and performed at Regional PDP trainings and games. The NorCal Player Development Program identifies, develops, and showcases the top motivated and talented players in Northern California.

Academically, my GPA was never below a 4.0 and I have scored 1320 in my SAT test. I know that I could be injured and need to find a job later and in many areas of life, a college degree is well-respected and expected. But I cannot in good faith say that academic development should be a higher priority for me than developing my talent in soccer. I believe that playing soccer in college should enhance my college soccer experience and make it to the professional level, but in the meantime not to take away my ability to succeed in the classroom as well.

I believe that going to the gym for strength and conditioning programs for soccer are essential. I still focus not only on skill development and endurance training but also on other important elements of fitness such as strength and strength endurance training, speed and power, flexibility, agility training and nutrition, especially during off-season. 

My so far soccer experience has taught me to enjoy intense preparation and working with a team toward a common goal, even when there is little personal reward or recognition to be found. I have also learned to remain persistent amid disappointments. I will be majoring in biology and hope to apply these lessons in a career in the medical field.

Zayd