Ellena O’Malley '22 Recruiting Profile

My overall goal is a college experience that helps to shape the rest of my life.  My experiences over the past few years as a high level athlete have provided me the foundation to make this happen, and the college experience will be the culmination of this journey, where I hope to make lifelong friends, continue my soccer career at a high level and prepare for and begin my life as a future educator

Like most other high level athletes I am extremely competitive in all aspects of my life and achieve my goals with hard work and dedication.  For example, this past Fall, I played on my High School Varsity Soccer team at Holy Trinity, attending practice and games each day and on weekends.  I also participated on three other HIgh level teams, one at Premier level, one at EDP level and one at NPL level, as well as being a member of the ENYYSA South Girls ODP team/program.  This resulted in my attending (in addition to my high school practices and games) four other practices and three other games per week, all while maintaining a high GPA and Honor Roll Status at Holy Trinity. 

What sets me apart from other recruits are my other experiences, including being the captain of a team that spent two weeks playing in England in 2018, working as a referee, interning with a local training organization and volunteering to assist at my club team’s annual tournaments.  These experiences  have let me see not just different styles of play and levels of effort, but to pick and choose from those that I think would make me a better player.  As the daughter of a soccer coach and club President, I have also seen the behind the scenes work and analysis that go into preparation not just for individual games but all season long and now prepare myself for each game and tournament by using a much broader view than the average player.  

Most importantly, I have learned the necessity and benefits of putting the team first and  developed the knowledge of what it takes to be a real team player and leader.  I have learned that being teammates and a leader means that you truly encourage others around you, supporting each other's strengths and weaknesses, which makes you stronger as well.  I am sure I will bring this increased understanding to my college team, and have no doubts that it will serve my college as it has in my pre-college careeer.