Richard Gutierrez '19 Recruiting Profile

“I learned all about life with a ball at my feet.’’-Ronaldinho

I was an average kid in elementary school. I always saw kids playing soccer at school and I always wanted to play. I was afraid to play with those kids because I was overweight, and I did not know if they would accept me because they always used to tease me. One day I met my best friend named Bryan and he invited me to go play soccer, and I really liked it and wanted to keep playing. Sometimes the other kids would bully me, and I would  feel left out and run away and hide. It was spring and that meant that soccer season was just right around the corner and I tried out for the team and did not make it because I was overweight. I remember that day when they told me I did not make it; I cried my eyeballs out and this teacher came up to me and told me everything was going to be okay and gave me a card of a soccer club. I went to try out for that soccer club and I made it. I started off as defense, but was not really good at it. They saw that I was really tall compared to my teammates and put me at the goalkeeper position. I was decent at it, and the more I played the better I became.  In 7th grade, I made a state team as the second option.

When I was in 8th grade I started to work out more, train harder, and lost weight. I started to be faster and stronger and during the games I was considered the hero. By ninth grade, I was the best goalkeeper of the club; they only scored two goals on me in that state season.

All of my hard work was worth it in the end. I became captain of the team and I’m currently still the best goalkeeper in the club and aspire to continue growing as a soccer play and as an individual. I'm proud of myself because I'm a role model to the upcoming generations and they tell me, “I just want to be like you when I grow up” and sometimes I do not know what to respond and just tell them you'll be better than me, and I will help them get there. What this experience made me realize is that life is hard and you have to work for what you want. If you want be someone in life you have to accept that you have to work day and night and that things will not get handed to you.