John Podzielinski '19 Recruiting Profile

PHILOTIMO 

This past summer my high school team and I have had the opportunity to attend a speaking engagement featuring a former college athlete and soccer player "Whitey" Kapsalis, who has shared a powerful story about his journey to becoming a key player and the team captain playing for the Indiana University soccer team. He has shared his life philosophy that has guided his pursuit of his athletic and personal goals. The motto - PHILOTIMO, comes from a Greek Word that means personal pride, dignity, courage, duty and putting others before yourself. My team has embraced this attitude and PHILOTIMO  is featured on our warm-up shirts for the season to serve as a reminder for what we strive for.

Personally, I have accepted this philosophy as a way to challenge myself.  For a high school senior  pursuing the dream of being recruited and playing on the next level, there is a great deal of  pressure and an anxiety that comes with the recruiting process, which make it easy for a young person to become  shortsighted and selfish on the soccer field. It is easy to get  caught up chasing after personal bests, individual stats, records and accomplishments. In the quest of  personal showcase there is little room for others who contribute to the success. As I am training and earning my spot on the college roster, I challenge myself to never lose sight of the importance of the work every member of my team puts in to contribute to my opportunity to make the next perfect assist and the next game winning goal. I challenge myself to always remember I am only as strong as the shoulders of my team mates I stand on and I am grateful for the opportunities and trust they have given me.

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