Kohei Kirino '27 Recruiting Profile

My name is Kohei Kirino, and I play as a Striker or a Winger. My goals and aspirations for soccer is to be able to spread soccer to as many people as I can throughout my life, and be able to express the wonderful and amazing aspects of this sport that I have fallen in love with, to the future generations to come. 

I am very hard-working, passionate, and filled with determination. If I find a problem with myself in my play, I will try and do anything to fix it and overcome it. I believe that no matter how perfect you are in the game, there are always millions of things that you can work on to become a better player. My true passion shows on the field, where I am driven by a strong desire to win. Whether I am scoring goals, holding the ball up top, fighting for my life in 50/50s, or fiercely chasing defenders around in press, I always make sure to give my all on the pitch, and never leave thinking, "I could've worked harder today." 

I started playing soccer when I was four (initially inspired by Neymar), and I was the worst player on my local team. From the help of my amazing dad who pushed me through and practiced with me every day, I grew to become both a leader and one of the most important players on the team until I left to a very high level club. I am not naturally gifted or talented in soccer, but I believe that hard work both on and off the pitch can mask any trait that you don't have. This philosophy, and having it written and hung up on my wall, really shaped my personality and gave me hope when I felt like I couldn't go further, and put me in an amazing place like I am today.

Although individual work is important, soccer is a team sport, where chemistry and collaboration is important with all 11 players on the field. I am known to be respectful on and off the pitch to everyone around me. I never get frustrated at my teammates, and always try and push them upwards with words. As one of my coaches said, "We work as a team, we fight as a team, we score as a team, and we celebrate as a team." I have stuck to those words my whole life, and I am very thankful of my coaches and teammates that push me higher every day.

Thank you for reading my personal statement, and I am very excited to be able to share with you my love and passion for this amazing game.