Aiden Phillips '24 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing soccer for as long as I can remember. I started out chasing the ball on a local recreation team as early as 5 years old.  From there, I played in Middle School, that is until Hurricane Michael destroyed my home town of Panama City, FL. A Category 5 Storm, second only to Hurricane Andrew, ripped the roof off of my middle school and left it with 2 feet of water.  My parents sent me to live with my grandparents in Jacksonville, FL while Panama City rebuilt. I eventually moved back home only to then be faced with COVID 19 restrictions.  As soon as my world seemed to be returning to normal I decided to go out for my highschool team, the Bay High Tornadoes.  I successfully tried out and was on the team as a Defensive Back.  I was learning to play again and our team was together but as luck would have it, our starting Goalkeeper came down with and injury and our back up goalkeeper was sent to play for the varsity squad, leaving our JV team without a keeper. It just so happened that I had hit a growth spurt during my highschool years and shot up to over 6 feet in a short time, so I decided to give Goalkeeper a try.  I instantly excelled in this position and knew this was where I belonged.  I began racking up clean sheets and making saves that caught the attention of my coaches and opposing coaches. I finished the season and was awarded most improved player for the 22' - 23' season. I immediately turned my attention to club ball and to continue to improve at Goalkeeper.  My first practice picked up where I left off with highschool. My first round of reps as Goalkeeper was solid. I rotated out of the box to give the second goalie their reps and the very next scrimmage as striker, I avoided making contact with the keeper and jumped over him only to land with my entire weight on my right leg; I instantly felt a pop. Over the next couple days, I would learn what I had already known.  I completely tore my right ACL, partially tore my right MCL, and discovered that I had floating bone chips behind my right knee cap that would have to be screwed back together.  I was devastated.l, but determined to play again. The next 9 months were the hardest and most painful of my life, but I made it back and was reunited with my team for the start of the 23' - 24' season. I've played over 400 minutes in goal, made 37 saves (as of 16 Oct 23), and a GAA of 2.292....and no intention of slowing down.