Kol Rollins '20 Recruiting Profile

FC United, Illinois State Cup Champions Spring 2019, USYS National League team

Team Captain, Oak Brook Soccer Club, USYS National League team, consistently top ten GotSoccer Illinois rank

Only Freshman on Varsity High School Team, 2016    

ODP Illinois State Team 2016-2018, ODP Region II training pool 

ACT 35 (first attempt), GPA 4.69/4.0, National Merit Finalist expected due to PSAT 99 percentile, Fall 2017 (Sophomore), Vice President National Honor Society

My work ethic is one of the greatest characteristics I possess both on the field and in the classroom, and I intend to bring that intensity to any college and team that I play for.  It has gotten me far athletically and academically, and defines who I am.  This first blossomed when I started to develop a passion for the beautiful game.  My love of soccer grew when I began to play community soccer when I was five years old, and when I moved up to play for my local club just two years later.  It gave me an awareness of my determination and drive, and highlighted the endlessness of my ability.  It also taught me lessons about life; things like you can only worry about what you can control, or how things may not go your way even when you do everything right, or even the sense of satisfaction after a difficult training.  It has and continues to teach confidence to the humble kid inside me that refuses to accept my abilities and places too much weight on criticism.  

In the next decade of my schooling, I aim to push myself to continue to find challenging, but interesting topics (in math especially) that I can use in a career.  I was brought up in a family that instilled a sense of curiosity in me as well as the importance of a great education.  I aim to become an engineer that works with sports equipment to improve and give advantages to players that wear it. Throughout my life I have had to battle injuries (broken arm, broken ankle, major ankle sprain), so I understand what it means to be down, but these setbacks have molded me into the person I am now.  For instance, coming off of a broken ankle, I played in the ODP Region 2 state tournament, vying for a spot in the region practice pool.  After my first four games back, I was selected to participate in the pool.  Something that has always helped me as well as the ability to fight, is my leadership.  Though I am not always the most vocal, I believe in leading by example and do so in my everyday life.  While I will no doubt continue to live out my soccer dream of playing in college, I will make sure to my best ability that I am challenged physically and mentally, and that the college I play for encourages me to use my work ethic to become a better person. Most importantly, I am a winner, and I will bring that mentality to any team I play for.