Justin Ceccanecchio '24 Recruiting Profile

Like most kids, I started out pretty young trying as many sports as I could. When I was 5,  I started with soccer, baseball, wrestling and even some running. I loved playing all of these different sports,  but my love for soccer above all started when I joined my club team,  the South Jersey Elite Barons,  now called SJEB Rush. I joined the club when I was 8 and right from the start my coaches focused on technical training and taught the game in a way that made me fall in love with it.

While I played multiple sports until I was 11,  soccer became my focus, and I looked for every chance to play,  whether for my club, playing futsal in the winter, or extra trainings. Playing for SJEB Rush led to me being selected for the NJ ODP state team the last 4 years and the East Region Player Pool the last two years. I have also been selected for teams going to play in tournaments all over the United States, and have also been selected for teams participating in tournaments in Italy and Spain. These experiences have made it my goal to play soccer for as long as I can, and I hope that will mean that I will continue to play in college.

I think if you asked my coaches to describe me as a player, they would talk about my technical skills,  my confidence on the ball, and my work ethic. I work very hard outside of team trainings to get better every day.   Playing either as a right or left wing, I have a heavy but targeted shot with my right foot.  My left footed shot is strong and accurate. For my club and high school teams I am assigned to take most corners and free kicks. I also ran cross country and track  through 8^th grade and hope to continue to run track in high school. My focus on distance running has helped to make sure I am fit and able to not to get tired during a game.   

Over the past few years, I have learned how to balance school work and my soccer schedule.  While traveling for close to two weeks to play in tournaments in other countries, I had to find time to complete my work while on those trips, either in the hotel or even on the plane.  My school work is very important to me  and right now I am thinking about some type of career in the medical field. I achieved very good grades through middle school and I will be taking Honors courses in high school at St. Augustine Preparatory School.

While I am just getting started playing in high school, I hope to have the chance to continue playing after that. I am excited to see where things may go from here.