Joseph Rychwalski '19 Recruiting Profile

I appreciate having the opportunity to write some thoughts about my journey as an athlete up to high school, as well as my goals for the future. Soccer has always been an integral part of me and my development as a person, ever since I picked it up in kindergarten. Soccer for me is an amazing way to express myself, upkeep my personal fitness, build camaraderie with my teammates, and learn lessons of collaboration to use beyond the soccer field. I take valuable things from the game into other facets of my life-joy, fair play, hard work, resilience and knowing how to apply lessons after a win or a loss. Therefore, I see it as an important and exciting opportunity to play soccer at the college level. In return, I will bring to my school, coaches and teammates my positive attitude, listening, intellect, creativity and passion for the game.

Currently I am a junior at Bow High School and am the starting goalkeeper for the Varsity team. Prior to that, from 2013-16 I played with the Development Team of the Manchester City School of Football under Simon Hewitt (former Burnley GK) and Chris McCarthy. In October I will start my second year of club soccer with Global Premier Soccer (GPS) New Hampshire. Playing club soccer not only serves as a vehicle to maintain readiness for the following high school season, but also a way to further develop my skills as a keeper.

I feel that my positional strengths are covering crosses, working the ball around the back line, covering one-on-ones in addition to communication, positioning and mental toughness. Since my earliest training with Manchester City School of Football, I have been taught to maintain possession of the ball and work it up from the back. I make myself available to teammates under pressure and am comfortable with the ball at my feet. I am a very encouraging leader in the back and enjoy helping the back four make good tactical decisions.  I review game film, video tape my training for later review and work with regional GK coaches in an effort to improve. In my spare time I enjoy individual work-outs with our main striker.

Academically, I have initial interest in law, political science and human geography. Having spent three years in the Middle East, I became very aware of other cultures and the needs of the world's working poor, migrants and refugees. Our family moved to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2013 and we stayed until July, 2016.  This was a momentous time for me and helped create tremendous personal growth with development of greater resilience, compassion and self-reliance. Being surrounded by such amazing diversity really gave me a global perspective regarding nation and worldwide events. I aspire to apply these experiences along with my love of soccer to assist in welcoming young refugees to New Hampshire by getting them involved in the "beautiful game". I am a very curious person by nature who enjoys collaborating with others to solve problems. In addition to strong academic performance with a current GPA of 3.7,  I am a member of the school’s National Honor Society, which entails community service work in and around the school.  As physicians, my parents have instilled in me the great importance of service to others. In the future, I hope to continue to use my athletic and academic skills in this way.

I look forward to my continued development as a goalkeeper, athlete and teammate under his staff’s guidance. While currently being a  New Englander, I am very open to exploring colleges in other regions. I look forward to meeting you and your staff in person to see if matriculation as a student athlete at your institution would be an excellent fit.

With sincerest regards,

Joseph I. Rychwalski

Bow High School

Class of 2019