Yuri Braga '22 Recruiting Profile

My hometown, Salvador, is an exceptionally colorful city, with an extremely rich culture that descended from Europeans, Africans, and autochthonous tribes. Growing up there exposed me to immense diversity. Playing soccer in the “most African city outside of Africa” - as it is known due to its highest percentage of black population of any city outside of Africa - introduced me to a reality many privileged people never experience. Infested with poverty and violence, most poor kids in Salvador only have one option to escape the bitter life in the favelas: playing soccer. My entire team was made up of young black men, all from poor neighborhoods and extremely dedicated to the game; they taught me several lessons. One was to be extremely grateful for everything I am given, as they had much less than me and never seemed to complain about their lives. Another thing I learned was to keep my wallet and cellphone always out of sight since many people in my training facility would not hesitate to steal a brand new iPhone. Most importantly, I found out what it takes to be the best at something: you must work unimaginably hard and consistently towards a specific goal, sometimes even sacrificing other areas of your life. The majority of my teammates, unfortunately, did not get to succeed in soccer. Due to the great difficulty in becoming a soccer player in Brazil, as well as negative influences from their surroundings that drive them towards crime and drugs, most are doomed to remain in the miserable slums of Salvador.

In 2017, Brausa United FC, led by Adauto Neto, hosted a soccer tournament called EDP for my Brazilian team. After watching me play and interacting with me, Neto invited me to live with him and his family in Baltimore, Maryland, playing soccer for Brausa as well as for his high school team, the Concordia Prep Saints. I have contributed in several ways to the Saints. I am a member of the NHS and captain of the varsity soccer team. I inspire others to work hard and set high goals in life. I also use my talents, knowledge, and expertise to guide them through their difficulties inside and outside of school. One time I led an overnight review session for the Calculus AP exam. Since I was the most skillful mathematician in the class, I voluntarily took over the session and had a great impact on my classmates. I solved dozens of complex problems on the board and guided my friends through each topic of the test. My leadership provided my classmates with a thorough understanding of calculus. It also helped me get a 5 on the exam.

My favorite organization is Brausa United, my club team. If I weren’t there, a lot of things would be different. First of all, I was the first of many Brazilian students to come to America for school and to play for Brausa. Doing this, I was a pioneer of a growing methodology of the club: bringing Brazilian players to strengthen the soccer teams. My team also increased its level significantly due to my level of play. Not only do my skills make the team more efficient, but my hard work also inspires others to hustle every practice and game.

I have many great aspirations that I wish to accomplish during and after college. I plan on completing the four years of college and receiving my bachelor’s degree while playing top-level soccer, standing out academically and athletically. After that, I plan on playing soccer professionally for a few more years and then returning to Brazil and working until I am eventually able to found a company there. There are many ideas I could bring from America to Brazil which would interest many people. Meanwhile, I plan on building a large family and raising my kids in my hometown.