Jens Zimmermann '17 Recruiting Profile

Being named First Team All-State at center back two seasons in a row was a huge honor for me in my soccer career but the bigger honor was having my teammates select me as the Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Selfless Player for my senior season. This year, I was one of our captains. Our team was truly a team and having my teammates thank me for my leadership was an amazing feeling and experience. Considering we have 4 players from Ethiopia, 2 players from Honduras and an exchange student from Austria, it was no small feat for our diverse group to become a unit. 

 As a soccer player, I believe I represent the total package. I’m big, strong, have good instincts, excellent field vision and have improved my header timing to where I am a real scoring threat on set plays. This year we tied at first in our conference and went 2-1 at State. Last year we went 17-1-0 and only allowed 5 goals in the 14 games of the regular season. It's been an amazing ride.

My coaches tell me they can count on me to make key plays and good decisions as a center back. They consider me "coachable”, a fierce yet respectful competitor, and a great teammate. This is no accident. I work deliberately at the intangible skills of being a student-athlete just like I work on my soccer skills. I actively look for opportunities to contribute positively on the field with my play and attitude, before and after practices, in the classroom and out in the community. Playing on a team is a responsibility – I give 100% every time I step on the field for myself, my teammates, and my coach. My job is to lead, to stay focused and remain dedicated - especially during the difficult moments. 

While the feedback I receive from teachers, coaches, and other adults is that my attitude will serve me well, I believe the fact that I have played internationally, speak fluent German and passable Spanish also sets me apart. I'm a dual citizen of the US and Germany. I attended school in Germany, spend most summers there with my grandparents, and have traveled extensively in Europe, South America and Africa with my family. I believe my world view has been broadened by these experiences and resulted in a genuine acceptance of difference that also serves me well.

Above all, as a competitor, I know how to win. I've been lucky to play on winning teams. My club teams have absolutely dominated Montana soccer since I was 12 years old. My high school team has been one of the top teams in the state every year I've been in high school. I tried out for and made Montana ODP twice (which requires a 2 hour drive one way for practices and extensive travel to games). When it counts, when things get dicey, I know how to dig deep and bring it. These are the best moments as a competitor and I thrive on being the big play maker. Robbing a star forward of an open goal with a perfectly-timed slide tackle is like playing a challenging piece on the cello. It takes practice, timing, and feeling and when done perfectly, is a thing of beauty. I live for those moments!

Being an athlete is a huge part of my identity but I take academics, and music seriously also. Named Montana Academic All State three times, I take early morning classes, honors classes, AP classes and maintain a high GPA. I believe being a student-athlete has forced me to develop personal organizational skills that allow me to achieve success in the classroom and on the field. In addition to soccer and school, I’ve played the cello for 10 years and am a member of Billings Senior High School's Philharmonic Orchestra. We traveled to LA last semester and played with the LA Symphony Orchestra. It was a very cool experience.  I have a brown belt in Tang Soo Do (Korean Karate) and run my own lawn care and snow removal business to pay for my car and earn spending money.

I am planning to graduate early (in January 2017), work on my family's farm in Sonoma, CA to earn money and then backpack through South America before starting college.