Marleigh Bonsall '23 Recruiting Profile

My goal I set to play college soccer at an early age has been met with many more challenges than most athletes face.  First, I have Type 1 Diabetes.  If you don't have T1D there is no way to understand how it can affect you physically and mentally, especially when playing sports as a teenage girl.  It has been very tough and discouraging at times, but managing my diabetes requires a lot of self-discipline that will benefit me in the future.   Another big challenge I've had to endure in my soccer journey is long trips to training.  My family lives two plus hours from the nearest competitive soccer club, so where most girls commit a couple hours a night for training, my commitment on nights when we train is six to seven hours.  This time away from home has required a huge commitment and forced me to work very hard to maintain my GPA.  Although my challenges have maybe been a disadvantage at times compared to other recruits,  I believe the self-discipline and hard work ethic that I've learned through these challenges sets me apart from other athletes and gives me the opportunity to use these traits to continue to improve and become a more impactful player in college.