Jackson Graham '26 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I was young I can always remember playing soccer. Every weekend, starting at 7 years old, I recall traveling to the soccer field to play games with other kids my age. As I grew older I started to become more competitive taking soccer training more seriously, especially wanting to get better after a loss.  In an effort to get even better I joined my first travel soccer club around 11 years old.  

Enduring the work ethic of my elders, I worked hard at what I wanted and didn’t stop until I won. Winning is always fun but on the other hand there is losing, the hated side of sports. Losing was a curve for me to learn and to better myself as a player. Never forgetting a loss, I always strived to be a better player the next day and to contribute to the team as much as I could. This included training with the team, staying after practice to train on my own, taking time out of my week (and weekends) to train to become a better player. Not only was I bettering myself as a player, I was also creating a bond and passion for the game I love.

With sports comes school. School is the #1 priority with being a student athlete both inside and outside of school and club sports. The student part comes before the athlete part. I always make sure to have my homework completed by its deadlines and try my hardest do well on quizzes and tests. Of course I would love to only play soccer, but the reality is that academics come first. Realizing that without doing well academically, I will not do well with sports. Being focused on school primarily along with soccer is something I prioritize heavily.

Since officially starting school soccer (7th grade COVID year) I have always been a starter on the field. This held my confidence high but I never let it get the best of me and my teammate's. This occurrence would happen along my middle school days. Along with player soccer, I created connections with all of my teammates. Knowing that a good team bond will contribute on and off the field. As passionate as I can be about the sport, I will always support my teammates both on and off the field, and being a leader to them whenever I can be. I first got my chance to lead my team into the finals of a Tournament. As a captain I led us to a 2-1 in an overtime game that lasted around 110 minutes. The moment was historic for us and was most likely the biggest tournament win for us as a club team. This bettered us as a team and personally for me as a leader. 

The passion will always be there for the sport. No matter if i‘m on the field, watching it on the big screen, or watching live at a game, the love for the sport will always be there. I love playing soccer the most and try to play whenever I can along with practices around 3-4 times a week. I have dreams of one day possibly playing pro in the big leagues. By putting in hard work and having a good work ethic, I try to make my dreams happen and pursue soccer in one day, the big leagues.

Additional profile information as well as additional video on myself can be found at:  https://proscore.soccer/player/JacksonGrahama6efd4