Personal Statement
My name is Anthony Hall and I am a Senior this year (2018-19) at Wiesbaden American High School, a Department of Defense school in Germany. I currently have a 3.9 GPA but am pushing for even higher. I am a member of several honor societies, specifically the National Honor Society and the German National Honor Society, as well as a Student Ambassador and an officer (Secretary) in our school's Astronomy Club. I've been playing soccer for 12 years and have played many positions, from striker, to midfield, and now my current spot at center back most of the time, sometimes outside back (either side), and sometimes defensive midfield. My first club was 1. F.C. Rot (Germany) in 2009-10, and then Winchester United (USA) from 2013-14. In between them, I took a break from soccer to play tackle football, where I was quarterback, wide receiver, and tight end on offense, and usually safety or cornerback on defense. I have now been with 1. F.C. Naurod (Germany) since 2015, and my play has really improved over the last few years because of my great German coaches, talented teammates, and tough competition. And as the only American on my team, my German has also gotten much better. In addition to my German club, I'm also a key player for our local Wiesbaden Select Club (U.S. players), and was selected the past 3 years for the U.S. Olympic Development Program (ODP) team for the Europe region (state) in the high school age group (U-17), where I started at right back my first year and center back the past 2 years. In my freshman year of high school, I was a key starter in midfield on the Junior Varsity team, but as a sophomore, I started at outside back for our Varsity team. As a junior, I started every game at center back and played nearly every minute of our 13 games. It might seem obvious, but the people who have most influenced who I am today are my mother and father. My dad was a 4-year soccer starter at Division I Western Kentucky University, and more importantly, earned his Master's Degree. My mom was also an excellent athlete and a 4-year cheerleader at Southern Illinois University, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree. I became interested in soccer when I first saw it on TV, and when I learned my dad used to be a good player, I became even more interested. Plus, having spent most of my life in Germany, it's natural to love soccer. What I've learned about myself through playing soccer (and football and basketball) is that I can do more than I realize when I set my mind to it and really push myself, and if I don't worry about making mistakes, I usually play very well. My academic goal for high school is to graduate with honors. In college, I plan to be the best I can be at whatever I decide to do, and I hope to eventually get my Master's Degree (I'm not sure in what yet). A major obstacle I had to overcome when I was younger was my tendency to avoid contact. But several years of football helped with that, and now physical play is one of my strengths on the field. My greatest strengths, though, are my knowledge of the game and how I make my teammates better. Offensively, I understand how important spacing and movement are, and how the right movement at the right time creates space and opportunities. Additionally, I'm dominant in the air, a very good passer, and always a threat on set plays. On defense, I take pride in making my opponents have a miserable game and I usually play my best against better opponents. I also like to make myself an offensive threat coming out of the back. Overall, I think the biggest key to success for any team, in any sport, is how well they communicate.
