Gabriel Regalado '19 Recruiting Profile

For most of my life, I suffered from a lack of identity. As a child, I had no idea what I was truly passionate about; hobbies were simply hobbies, and I had no exceptional interest in anything. Growing up with immigrant parents made activities difficult to participate in, since I was always going back and forth with family members who had to take care of me as my parents worked. My genuine passions were nonexistent, and while finding a talent was something worth searching for, my efforts proved to be null. However, this changed when I entered high school and discovered one of my greatest passions: soccer. When I first joined the team my freshman year,  I felt like I was a part of a family rather than an individual, I was shaped by the common team goal to win and be the best player I could possibly be. Scoring my first goal among some of my best friends made me euphoric, and I longed for the feeling again afterwards. Since that goal, I worked to be the best player I could. Not just for myself, but for my teammates, and the family we established.

The gym became my temporary home, protein became my favorite meal, and sweat became the best feeling. Physically fortifying myself everyday prepared me for my last high school soccer season, and I was determined to make the best out of it. By the end of it, I exceeded my expectations and became both an all-conference and an all-sectional soccer player during my best season yet.

However, my biggest accomplishments are not in the sport itself; it’s what soccer has taught and given me. Everyone has a principle or set of principles that they live by, and mine come from soccer. It has taught me about compassion and family. It has taught me to prevail and to be a leader. But most importantly, it has taught me to be selfless and that in order to succeed, I must persevere and work on my craft.

Most days, I’m ecstatic to go to practice or play a game. But every once in a while, I think about completely restarting my whole life just because of this sport. But somehow, my passion for this sport always draws me back to it. Creating my own identity became possible since soccer became a gateway for me to express myself. I became a confident, outgoing, and positive individual with many characteristics where I finally felt to have a purpose and reason to exceed expectations.

Looking at pictures of me wearing my old uniforms reminds me of the long journey of personal growth and maturation I’ve experienced to reach the level I am at today. From playing street soccer on concrete to playing in professional stadiums, soccer has taught me about life and about myself more than anything else. I feel like my own teacher at times as I learn about life through a sport. The number one rule I learned is to work hard. Attributes and qualities are shaped through the activities you love the most.  All the hard work, blood, sweat, and tears are displayed for the 90 minutes I am the field--the place I call home.

I nurtured my dedication, generated a course of action, acquired motivation, and executed. I wanted to become the best player I could be. With true passion, limits and barriers are nothing. The only limits present are the ones you establish. Who would have thought a Mexican child of immigrant parents would make it into one of the best high schools in the city, surpassing all expectations, some that were set even by my own family? No one would have thought I would eventually become an all conference, all sectional soccer player. No one believed in me until it happened.