Jayden Hibbert '22 Recruiting Profile

I first started playing soccer when I was four years old with the Teaneck Stingrays.  Since I was one of the biggest kids in my age group, I was asked to try being a goal keeper and I learned to love it.  At age 6, I was asked to play for the U8 team and even though I was the youngest player on the team, I loved the game and my teammates were great.  My trainer, Ian Glover, saw my potential and had me playing in goal for U8 and on the field for U7 to increase my awareness with the ball at my feet. That pattern continued for 4 years— as I always played on 2 teams (sometime 3 teams) both as a goal keeper and as a field player.

At age 11 and 12 I was invited to play on the ODP team and with Next Generation soccer also known as Next Gen. I had an amazing opportunity to play in England with the Next Gen team and also played as a guest player in the Disney Cup International tournament with Santos FC or S.F.C a Brazilian youth team that Neymar Jr. played on as he developed his skills.  For the past 3 years, I have been invited, on several occasions, to the US Soccer Training Centers for the youth national team.

At age 12 I was recruited by the New York Red Bulls U12 Academy team and had an amazing season.  I started in over 20 games for the season, and had only 1 loss with 5 shut outs. During the 2017-18 season I struggled with several injuries and had knee surgery which put me out for the majority of my U14 spring season with NYRB. However, I have had another amazing year in 2018-2019 with the Cedar Stars Bergen Academy team with me playing 9 games having 9 wins 0 losses and 5 shutouts, which lead us to being second in our DA season.

Last year, I transferred from my local high school in Teaneck to a private school, St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, NJ and as a sophomore I had the privilege to play for their varsity team.  St. Benedict’s won its 31st out of 32 undefeated seasons in the Prep A State final this year and I am happy to say that I was on the field when we won, helping to make our record for the year: 19-1-0. This game also lead us to our 13th National Championship including a 3rd unprecedented National Championship in a row—this was never accomplished before for any high school soccer team—we made history! Overall, St. Benedict’s defeated six SIMA FAB 50 teams and are now ranked #1 by USA Today’s Super 25 Boys Soccer for the 2019-20 season.

From a very young age, I have aspired to play at the collegiate level. I am a team leader and try to lead by example while also encouraging and bringing an evident spirit to my team. I am very coachable and strive to be one of the hardest working players and one of the hardest working recruits you’ll find.

In the classroom, I have always done well and maintain a high GPA. I want to attend a college where I can push myself in the classroom and on the field. I am open to all options and want to ultimately find the right college match at the highest level of competition possible. I hope to become a great role model to all my peers and make my parents proud.