Nicole Sharon '25 Recruiting Profile

I started playing soccer when I was six years old.   I mostly played striker and midfielder but also goalie for a couple years with my club team.   I was frequently told while I was in middle school that I was too little to be a goalie and I should just focus on being a striker.   So that's what I did, until I got to high school and we were in need of a keeper.  My high school coach knew I had played goalie before so he asked me to step into the goal.   I wasn't exactly excited to be a keeper because of all the stress that comes with it and being a freshman just added onto that but I committed to the position for my team.  I was not able to play club as a sophomore because of a knee injury that I had to rehab from a surgery but I came back and played keeper for my high school team again and we went to the State Championship game.  This is where I saw the most improvement in my skill and my mindset.  I began to realize that it is a really great position and that I liked it. I decided that I would start working hard to improve my keeper skills.  I am now looking to continue my soccer career as a keeper in college.

My career goal is to be a children's sports physical therapist. I have worked with some excellent physical therapists throughout my knee rehabilitation. It is in large part due to their efforts and encouragement that I am now fully recovered and able to play aggressively without fear or pain. My motivation is to help athletes get back to playing their sport the fastest way and prevent other injuries in the future as well. I am a good candidate for an athletic training program and physical therapist program because I have an insider view of how these programs work.  I am also a very hard worker.  You can see that based on my soccer skills and how hard I worked for my team as the goalie.  I am also mentally resilient as I had to work back from three knee surgeries. I kept my focus positive and on my goal of getting back to 100% strength.  I am also a leader.  I have held leadership roles in many different situations; I am a group leader for 5th and 6th grade girls within my church,  I was on the executive board for my school Key Club, I assisted in bringing FCA (Fellowship for Christian Athletes) into my high school and I have been on two mission trips with my church.  I enjoy helping people and plan on serving others throughout my life.