Nicolas Rojo '24 Recruiting Profile

As a part of my culture, I grew up with a soccer ball at my feet. Fortunately, I ended up loving what I do and I want to do it for as long as I can. The next step to a life-long soccer career for me is collegiate soccer and I'd be a great fit for it. I will see it as a commitment to have the best four years of my life doing what I love most at the best level possible.

    A hard worker, good technical ability, years of experience at a competitive level, a motivational teammate, a positive attitude, a hate of losing, and most importantly a desire to do whatever is necessary for the team to be successful are all attributes that I possess that makes me a great fit for any program. On every single team I have been on I have been able to become a starting 11 player. One of my pregame rituals is being the first to talk and give a motivational pep talk to get my teammates amped up and telling them that we all have each other's back. I have had a great relationship with every coach I've had and I'm looking to help my coaches with whatever they need. I strive to be the hardest worker on and off the field to become a well-rounded athlete and this all comes from the discipline that I have been nurtured to have ever since I was a little boy.

    I am a year-round soccer player, making me 100% dedicated to the sport but lifting weights is also something I do when I have free time to keep me strong, in shape, and that makes me an overall better athlete. Before my ACL injury, I played at Beachside Soccer Club of Connecticut being both a player for the Developmental Academy team and the MLS Next team while being a regular starter. I was invited to the United States Youth National Team Identification Center for two rounds as a player at Beachside. When I eventually moved over to the New York Soccer Club MLS Next team I immediately became a starter and was performing well until I tore my ACL. After a few games and a California showcase things were looking up until my injury. I worked hard immediately after ACL and Meniscus reconstruction surgery to get back on the field. After a few setbacks during my rehab I am one hundred percent recovered and looking to go back to the level I was playing at before my injury.

    On the academic side, I am a hard worker and I prioritize it. I received a full-ride academic scholarship to attend St. Luke's School for four years of highschool due to my achievements throughout middle school in the classroom. I have over two hundred hours of volunteering throughout high school because of my want to give back to my community. I am also the president of the Hispanic affinity group at my predominantly-white school to be more in touch with my culture and to create a space where people like me can have a platform to have a voice.  At St. Luke's, I continue to perform well as a student with advanced courses every year. I believe an athlete that does well in the classroom shows a person who is well rounded and has very straight-forward priorities.

I am looking to attend a college where I can push myself in the classroom and on the soccer field to become the best version of myself and most importantly, bring success to whatever program I end up at. I want to make sure my parents' efforts as immigrants to give me a better life aren't in vain and I can make them proud.