Carson Nedell '17 Recruiting Profile

I come from a rural school in Central New York known as Camden. Our soccer program is now on the rise as during our 2015 Fall season, we finally qualified for the Section 3 Class A Boys Sectional Soccer tournament for the first time in 23 years.  2015 was my first season as the starting goalkeeper of the Varsity squad as I was instead utilized as an outside back, center back, and a midfielder throughout my sophomore season (Fall 2014).  As our senior starting goalkeeper had graduated we had no other goalkeeper on the roster and I was the only person on the team who had previous knowledge of the position as I played it during my middle school and JV seasons. I insisted to my Varsity coach to let me try out to be our starting goalkeeper as I trained all summer to prepare myself for tryouts to help fill an important role for my team. Over the course of the season, I received many compliments from opposing coaches on my performances against their teams and ended up eventually being voted as 2015 Tri-Valley League Goalkeeper of the Year, a 2015 Tri-Valley League 1st Team All Star and I made the 2015 All Mohawk Valley Boys Soccer Team.  Although I am only 5'8, I never let my height be an excuse for me. I always stay alert during games and I am very vocal communicating with my teammates. Whenever I am not playing soccer myself, I try to watch goalkeeper highlights of some of the best goalkeepers in the world like David De Gea, Manuel Neuer, Petr Cech, Keylor Navas, and Iker Casillas. While watching highlights of these goalkeepers, I usually try to analyze their read on the game and why they would make a decision to save a shot a certain way, why they would throw or roll a ball out to a teammate instead of just drop kicking it up field, and how they position themselves. I not only look up to professional goalkeepers, but also some great figures in my life. My Junior Varsity soccer coach once told me how "the mark of a great leader isn't how good you can be, but how good can you make those people around you".  My dream is not to only benefit my future, but perhaps benefit the future of others whether it is on the soccer field, or off the soccer field.