Personal Statement
- I played soccer as a child growing up in Billings, MT. Our rental was two blocks away from the grade school I attended. This permitted me to practice soccer on my own or with friends there when there was no snow outdoors. I also played "Little Guy Football" and played every skill position. I played basketball in grade school. However, because I had a late growth spurt, I could not compete in football or basketball. Both my parents usually had to work and missed many of my away games and some of my home games. In club soccer, in junior high and high school, I usually had to catch rides with my teammate’s parents for away games.
- Four of my teammates and I played soccer together since grade school in club soccer and later in our junior and senior year in high school. We trusted and challenged each other in soccer for many years. We always played indoors in grade school gyms each winter for months because the snow covered the fields in Montana. This helped us with our quick short game. This year, for example, in club soccer we traveled to Las Vegas to play in April. It was the first time our team had played outdoors this year. All the other teams had played outdoors all winter.
- Clint Dempsey inspired me because he also grew up in a poor neighborhood. He never forgot his roots. He had a great vision of the game and could anticipate where the ball would be. We both played midfield and forward. An interesting tidbit about Mr. Dempsey is that he is of Irish descent and my father loves Irish history.
- My parents never married and my single mother raised me. I have two younger half siblings. My father would help me practice soccer moves when he could when he was not working in construction.
- My grandparents lived in Florida for five years and I played there in summer soccer camps in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. These five day camps taught me valuable lessons. First, although the skills of players in Florida were sometimes much better, I could still compete. Their skills would inspire me to practice harder when I returned to Billings. But the best things I learned in these camps were the importance of communication and teamwork for success as a team.
- My mother has a high school diploma with a few college classes and my father has a GED. I want to win a college scholarship in soccer not only to continue my passion for the game, but more importantly to earn a college degree.
