Ryan Tapper '25 Recruiting Profile

At the age of five years old, I began playing a variety of sports that included basketball, soccer, and swimming. It didn't take long to realize that soccer was my passion. I have continued swimming because of the friends I have made over the years and the strength and fitness it provides me. I have wanted to play soccer at the collegiate level for quite some time and have focused my training to try and obtain that goal.  I have been very fortunate to have a family that supports my efforts by providing me with resources to help me achieve my goals.

The small town that I have grown up in has a club team, FC Galesburg, that I played with for several years.  After playing with FC Galesburg, I was encouraged and wanted to play at a higher level, so I traveled and played with FC Peoria.

On the field, I have good vision and a very high soccer IQ that helps me be very successful. I am also very good at getting out of tight spaces and finding the right pass after getting out of that space. I am a team leader that tries to encourage everybody around me and help them to become better players. I am also very coachable and take all the advice my coaches give me and try to implement it into my game.

I work hard at soccer year round through individual training and playing club soccer. I am also a part of the swim team at my high school throughout the winter and early spring. The swim team is very different because it is more of an "individual" sport and everyone pushes each other to swim better times in each race. Although someone may swim better than myself, that motivates me to work harder to win that spot back. Being a multisport athlete has shown me that you need to push everyone around you to do their best while also doing your best. I think that this can apply to every other aspect of your life whether you are at home or at your job.

In the classroom, I study hard to try and maintain a high GPA. I take Honors English and Honors Math classes to challenge myself while also taking business related classes to get a head start on what I want to study in college. Keeping a high GPA is important to me because the higher I have it, the better of a chance I have at getting into a college where I can pursue my major.  

I want to go to a college where I can continue to thrive both academically and on the soccer field. At the moment, I am open to looking at colleges anywhere and at any level hoping to find the school that is a best fit for me.