- 2021 Spotlight
Personal Statement
My name is Cate Cox and I am a 2023 midfielder. I am very tactically focused and thrive on a team I can call family and encourages creative gameplay. I want a team that makes time for the weight room, looks for open fields for extra practice, and is constantly challenging each other- and not only wants do it, but is thankful for the gift of each day and opportunity.
I am lucky to have had so many different opportunities and experiences in my soccer career and life, which have made me a well rounded player and person. My first competitive club, Euro Fc, was a club that was run by Brazilian coaches. They taught me to view team as family and soccer as a sport to love. They made me want to play soccer all year round, which led me to play futsal. Futsal took my footwork to the next level and I began to love to practice it on my own. I will forever be grateful for the greatest summer nights at Euro practice, and the unique and game changing foundation that it gave me. I started high school at a bigger public school, but after soccer season I switched to the smaller Catholic school. That transition taught me a lot about what I want in a school environment, the importance of Christ in my life, and an introduction how to adapt to new situations. That Spring Euro merged with another club to make Minnesota Rush. I knew I would miss the Brazilian culture in soccer, but this was a great opportunity to challenge myself with bigger tryouts and more competitive teams. I made the highest select team that year and focused on the wing position. That season taught me how and when to use long balls from the outside, an intro to combinations, and how to play as a unit. My club invited me to tryout for a competitive Girls Academy team in the cities called Salvo. I made the team and was a guest player for the season. The speed of play was much faster and was something I had to get used to. Salvo taught me so much about fast pace and quick touch possession, especially in small spaces. I learned how to play against more aggressive players- and how to shield the ball from people stronger than me. At that point I felt confident in the midfield and defensive positions. Lastly, I learned how to part time play with a team, which is a unique skill that helps with lots of different situations. Salvo allowed me to play against teams with some of the top girls in the nation and revealed to me that I want to play soccer in college.
While everything felt like it was about to click, Covid-19 hits. My own personal growth and development were in my own hands. I ran every morning and tried to find any type of strength training I could. I worked on juggling and footwork and got a lot of my exercise just from being on the ball. My personal footwork was very quick and unpredictable, but now I just needed to work on applying it to games. My first season back was Lourdes High School, where I made the varsity team and played center mid. The center is more unpredictable than the outside, and I developed the ability to have my head on a swivel and move balls around in all directions.
That summer I moved to Omaha Nebraska, which was another big change. I decided to play for Nebraska sporting ECNL-RL 2005. Our season started pretty recently but I have already developed greatly. I am playing a variety of outside mid, center mid, and forward. I have stepped up this season and have scored more goals than any previous season. I am developing my runs on the attack, driving towards net as a wing, and incorporating fun tricks like the rainbow! I firmly believe that I am a well rounded player who is thankful for the ability to be presented with any challenge, whether that is a new position on the field, or moving states in my junior year of high school. I am strong on the outside, with long balls and short possession with still maintaining a fast speed of play, distributing and decision making out of the middle, footwork and creative gameplay, working up the outside on defense, making runs and remaining dangerous on the attack, shooting with range and tough angles, and most importantly being an inspiring teammate who wants to make people work harder and be the best they can, even if I am the newest member of the team.
