Michael Mends '27 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I was very young, I've loved playing soccer. Being raised in West Africa, there were not a lot of options to play at the younger level. I picked up soccer from the local kids who would play all the time; those kids taught me that soccer was more than a game – it was life, which I still believe to this day. You could say I'm in love with the sport. I first played on a team when I was 10, which was my school team. I like to say I have a very good work ethic; I put a lot of effort into the things I do daily, and I can get along with everybody.

I am currently 14, and I play for Old Town Soccer Club (Logan, OH). I recently completed my first year of high school soccer, in which I was a JV starter.

While I better myself in soccer, I also take my academics very seriously, which really embodies the term student-athlete. I take Honors classes and also play a little bit of music in my free time, mostly guitar and trumpet.

My long-term goal for soccer is to become a professional. It's the one thing I've been dreaming of since I was a kid. I'm hoping to attend a D-I or a D-II school, and then I will continue from there. I plan on studying something in the financial field while I participate in collegiate sports."