Michael Vander Woude '24 Recruiting Profile

I am the 3rd from a family of 7. I play every sport out there with my brothers (Basketball, soccer, football, tennis, baseball, lacrosse) but I have only played organized Soccer, Basketball and Tennis in a league. I have been playing Soccer my whole life. Early on I chose to be a GK, but my dad wanted me to be a midfielder like my older bros. As my coach he would rotate me from goal to field depending on what he thought the team needed. This as gifted me with the ability of being very comfortable and capable with my feet when playing in goal. My teams very regularly use my feet as a way to beat pressure and sometimes as the source of an accurate through-ball over the defensive lines if they have pushed up. I am known for being very aggressive playing more than half of the game outside my box whether its passing to generate offense or using my speed to beat the opposing forward to clear a through-ball by the opponent. I Have been the starting GK on every team I've played on (Freshman year, I was the back-up at first but worked my way into the starting position over the senior goalie later in the season). I take pride in my ability to read the opposing team's attack and quickly react or communicate to my defense about how to rotate. I have been a captain on every soccer team I've played on (except for Freshman/Sophomore year on Varsity Soccer). Another skill I've worked on is reading PKS. I am 7-2 in PK-shootouts in my career (I have made at least one save in each victory). I have developed the ability to read the shooters body to pick a corner and react quickly without giving away my side to early.  Outside of sports, I am a very gifted student. I have had a 4.0 GPA in every class I have ever taken (At Seton School there are no weighted classes so 4.0 is the highest). I have excelled specifically in math (I am currently taking Calculus as a Junior) and Spanish (I plan to take Spanish 201 and 202 next year as a Senior). I will have earned 9-15 college credits through Dual Enrollment classes by the time I graduate! I am also a gifted leader. I am an officer for student government and the only Junior officer for the National Honor Society in our school.