Elyana Alleyne '23 Recruiting Profile

    Soccer has always been a passion of mine growing up. My introduction to the world of soccer was from my dad and his side of the family. My dad's side of the family is from Barbados and Jamaica; all most of the men have played soccer. Having my family there to support me in soccer has always been what is most important to me. The game of soccer has taught me how to persevere, reach goals, let loose, work with others, and so many other lessons.

    When I am playing soccer, I often think about how I am going to train myself to get better and how to push through those hard days where I don't want to work out or practice. The games that I have to force myself to succeed are the games that make me the player I am, and it is how soccer has taught me to persevere. My dad always tells me, "champions pay the price," and this saying is something that I can't stop thinking about whether it is getting work done in school or on the field. I love how deep the game is, rather than just learning how to dribble and kick a ball, I want to further my knowledge of the sport.

    Working off the ball, learning how to set up plays, learning how to find the little paths for passes and dribbling, how to take a player on, these are all aspects of the game that made me fall in love with soccer. Part of the reason I am so invested in the deeper sides of soccer is that the way I learned about the sport, from watching professionals play like Wayne Rooney, Mario Ballotelli, and reruns of Pele. When it comes to the games that I remember and the ones that I don't it depends on how hard I had to work if I didn't have to work hard those are the games that don't help me improve and the ones I won't remember.

    My work effort in soccer also translates into academics for me. Although my grades aren't all A's I still love learning, I would rather be in a harder class and have to struggle to gain more profound knowledge than to be in an easy. School hasn't always been something I loved because of not knowing about the different learning disabilities. I have the potential to play because I'm not just a player of the game but rather a student of the game.