Personal Statement
My name is Tate DeVito and my goal is to play for an NCAA Divison III school which holds high marks in academics, especially business, my intended major. I also am interested in engineering as a potential dual major.
I play for Western Albemarle high school in Charlottesville, Virginia, a most competitive soccer program which has produced NCAA Division I athletes for many years. This year (2014) we just finished off a 24-0-0 undefeated season clinching the Jefferson district, conference 29, 3A west region, and 3A state titles (first state and region titles since '96). While were only 3A, we beat a lot of 4A and 5A teams along the way and were ranked 8th in the nation by NSCAA, above 5A and 4A state runners up and champions in overall national rankings. I also have played for my local club, SOCA, and have all my life for the travel program and have also played on the west central Virginia District ODP team.
Any team looking for an outside back with an attacking mindset could be a good fit for me. For, my main strengths include my tackling ability; physical endurance; crossing ability; clean distribution of the ball; physical strength; winning 50/50 balls, primarily out of the air; dribbling and technical ability; dangerous attacking vision from the outside back; and coachability. I can confidently play anywhere on defense, but I am known for being an outside back with pace who enjoys getting forward.
On and off of the field, I set myself apart from all other recruits, because I am willing to give blood, sweat, tears, and anything else necessary to improve as a player and a student. I earned the Warrior award my sophomore year for my high school team as a direct reward for such outstanding work ethic throughout the soccer season. Every day, I go to the turf field near my house for extensive hours in hopes of improving and building on my strengths to the best of my ability. When I am not at the field, I am in the gym, working equally as hard. Ask my coaches and they will tell you that I stay after practices, come to school early in the morning, and watch large amounts of game film, all in hopes of bettering myself as a defender and a player. They will also say that my improvement since freshmen year, along with my work ethic and competitive fire is unmatched by any other player that they know.
Having captained in the past, I know that much of my competitive fire can rub off onto other players, breeding a competitive team atmosphere when I am put in charge.