Calan Armitage '24 Recruiting Profile

Coming from an athletic family, with my mom playing Division I at Stony Brook, as a goalkeeper, and my dad a professional sailor for Team New Zealand, it seemed natural that sports were always a large part of my life. Growing up soccer brought me a sense of belonging and community I couldn't find anywhere else.  In Junior year I learned to value that community more than ever after I received a season-ending concussion which kept me away from not just my sport, but my friends and community that reside within it. This setback put things into perspective for me, seeing how important not just the sport (that I've been putting years of work into was) but my education that I've been putting years of work into as well.

• In these past few years, I have been blessed with opportunities to prove myself at the Varsity level, being the starting goalkeeper since my freshman year for Hunterdon Central, and a captain for the program my Junior year.  During my  time between the sticks for high school, we've won our County Tournament three times, our Conference, and our Sectional Championship. Individually I have been blessed to have been awarded 1st Team All-State, 2nd Team All-State Goalkeeper, and multiple selections for All-Section, All-Group, and All-Region teams across all 3 years. 

Playing at the high school program, I've had the opportunity to play with over 50 different teammates and 2 head coaches over the past 3 years, I believe I've adapted as a person, player, and captain to excel under any form of coaching, teammate camaraderie and environments. Outside of sports, I believe my extracurricular activities and upbringing has allowed for this growth as a person as well.  I volunteer with HOPS, a program for assisting special need children with sports, and being a school ambassador, where I help new kids of all backgrounds around my school, present to middle schools, and participate in community events. 

Senior year I gained a spot on the PDA MLS NEXT U19's, foregoing my senior season at Central to play in a higher more competitive league.  I play under Coach Tyler Stakiwicz (Rutgers Coach) and Coach Elvir (Goalie trainer) and have developed tremendously during this time in the possession based play out of the back.

When I was younger, my parents decided to take a year off and have our family live on a sailboat.  While living on the sailboat, we went island hopping in the Caribbean.  Every week I would experience a new country and culture and the one thing I realized was no matter where I went, just bringing my soccer ball to a grass field brought the community together. Seeing this cohesion of community through soccer showed me that it was more than just a sport it was a culture, a culture that I want to experience through my years at college and the rest of my life.

Along with a rigorous athletics program, I am looking for a strong Business college to continue the passions I have come to enjoy in high school.  My focus is to study Finance, Economics, Marketing, and Film Production. I believe I have the talent to impact a college team and bring strength to the back line along with the drive, commitment, mental toughness, and experience to integrate seamlessly into any system. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to meet you someday soon.