Agnes Nilsson '16 Recruiting Profile

My name is Agnes Nilsson, I'm 18 years old, and I'm currently living in a suburb just outside of Malmo, Sweden. I've played soccer most of my life starting out in a small club when I was 5 years old. I've been playing on an elite level since the year I turned 14. I'm living with my parents and my brother and as a whole we are a soccer family. My brother is currently a soccer student in elementary school, my father is a soccer coach, so as you see I come from a true soccer family. 
Currently I'm going to Malmo Idrottsgynasium, which is a high school especially for elite athletes. The programme is especially designed to help students combine studies on a high academic level with elite sports on a national level. The admission is national which means that you compete with all major clubs and players in your area in order to be admitted. The school is very helpful towards us athletes, both academically and as athletes. Our individual programmes can be adjusted according to our travel needs etc. This really helps us to stay fit both mentally and physically long mid-week away games coming home late at night. In school we have three morning practices every week.

My current team is IF Limhamn Bunkeflo and we are one of the best teams in Sweden in the G19-class. The competetion is based on regional divisions followed by a play-off and for the past 2 seasons we have won our division and finished 4th in the Swedish championship. The competetion is only open to elite clubs that have their first team in the 1st or 2nd division in Sweden. My current position on the team is defensive midfielder and I am a starter on the pitch. I’ve also played center back and outside back in my time in the club. We practice 4 nights a week and throughout the season we have one or two games every week. The amount of games vary due to the competition season in terms of league matches, district championship matches and reserve matches.

In 2013 I had the pleasure to become a Swedish champion when we managed to win the championship for G16. A great experience since I love winning as much as I hate losing.

My strengths on the pitch as I see them is first of all my understanding of the game. I read the plays and position myself thereafter. I have a good touch on the ball and my coaches have always given my good credits for my passing game, both the long and the short one. I'm usually taking care of free kicks and the corner kicks. I'm also a very physical player who likes to compete 1v1 for the ball. In terms of leadership on the pitch I've over the years developed my communication skills. This means I can help my teammates in most situations, giving them more time to react and act. I also highly believe in the term “leading by example”, that’s why you’ll never see me hanging my head until the game is over. As long as there’s time you can always try to win! 

I'm a good student that combines good academic grades with a hectic schedule as a soccer player. Although our coaches allow us to skip practice I’ve only had to do this a couple of times in my 5 years as a soccer student. My main focus is school and soccer which means that other things are set aside when needed.

I’m hoping to find a college that can give me an academic challenge aswell as an athletic one. I want to compete on a high level, but the education is equally as important to me.

I hope that you’ll find my profile interesting so that I can get a further possibility to introduce myself!