Mathew Kelne '20 Recruiting Profile

My name is Mathew Kelne. I’ve lived my whole life in Kansas. I started playing soccer as a little kid (ever since I can remember.) Soccer has always been more than a sport to me, more like a lifestyle. I played baseball, basketball and I became a 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo by age 12. But there was something about soccer that I just fell in love with.

I am primarily a left outside back, but I have years of experience at center back, center midfield, and outside forward. I play Varsity high school soccer at Olathe East, and was our starting left back. We were the Kansas 6A State champoions for the 2018 season. My club team is a division 1 academy team, and I also play on Fountain City Futsal Academy which is one of the few futsal academies in the country.

Things that I think set me apart from most players, are my speed and ability to use both feet. Although I'm not as tall as some other players, I’ve always been faster than most with my fastest 40-meter dash being 4.7, which is why I think outside back is a great position for me to play. While being naturally right footed, I also have just as good of a left foot, and am even better at many skill moves and also crossing with my left, than I am with my right foot.

Off the field, I've had academic success. I’ve always been interested in math and science. Right now I’m taking two college-level courses and really enjoy programming classes. I'm interested in pursuing an area of Computer Science as a major. I’ve also always loved music. I played the cello at a very young age, but later picked up guitar and gotten really good at that over the years. However, above all else, soccer is my true passion on and off the field.