Simon Leonessa '21 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing soccer since I was 3 years old and have always loved competing and being part of a team. I have always played on teams that I could contribute to raising the level of success, and that is the kind of team that I hope to play for in college. Through soccer I have learned that I am willing to work hard to achieve what I want, that I have a very competitive mentality, and that working hard leads to results. I think that one of the factors that has shaped me the most as a player is the unique coaches I have had who have each taught me something different technically or tactically that I will always keep as a part of my game. Although soccer is important to me, something that was always emphasized in my community was academics. My academic goals in general are to continue excelling, to discover what areas I am the best at, and to find out what I enjoy the most, so that I can make it a part of my future.

I have had to overcome several obstacles regarding soccer to get where I am now. First of all, soccer has always been a big deal in my hometown, so there has always been a large pool of talented players and a lot of competition to be the best. When I started playing I was one of the smaller players on the field and had to become very good technically to stay at the highest level. This was even more difficult when I was playing against teams much older than me while I was playing up, especially in the earlier years of high school soccer. I always persevered no matter how difficult the circumstances were and found a way to be successful. These hard won successes only make me love the sport more. That is why you should recruit me to your team.