Vanessa Frelih '22 Recruiting Profile

My passion for soccer has enabled me to strive for various goals and has pushed me to be the best possible person I can be. One of my major goals through soccer from a young age was having the ability to receive my college/university education in the US at a division 1 school. Also, I aspire to one day play professionally in Europe. Currently, I am a part of the Ontario REX Program, playing alongside some of Canada's best youth players. Here, and all throughout my soccer career, I've been able to adapt many new/unique skills that will transfer into my college/university career as well.

Firstly, I am a very versatile player, meaning that throughout my years I have gained experience playing in many different positions. This experience has allowed me to understand many other parts of the game and the responsibilities of other positions, rather than just mine. By having this understanding, it allows for my soccer IQ to improve so much more, as I am able to not only influence a fraction of the field/play but the entirety of it.

Also, I can adapt quite quickly to new environments, making myself a very coachable player. A wide variety of coaches come into our daily training sessions, and many of them have extremely different styles of coaching. Thus, in order to effectively make use of the session, I must adapt to their coaching styles, as I would need to moving into college/university.

Additionally, I am also a very strong leader. I was the captain of my OPDL (Ontario Provincial Development League) team for the past 3 years before moving into the REX Program. As a midfielder, communication is crucial on and off the field. This leadership ability allows me to effectively communicate with the rest of my unit and team to allow us to perform at peak conditions.

I have also been told that I obtain a very high soccer IQ, meaning my vision and ability to read the game is very high. Playing through the midfield, this is an essential skill to perform at a high level. By reading the game and anticipating the play has allowed me to be a very dangerous player, both on and off the ball.

I have achieved my 2nd Dan black belt in TaeKwonDo, which has taught me to focus and persevere, both mentally and physically. I am an extremely hard worker. I pride myself on always putting maximum effort into anything and everything I set out to do. These skills will continually push me within any environment I am in, and will definitely translate into my college/university career.

Finally, I have a 4.0 GPA (marks of 95% to 100% based on Ontario, Canada standards) in both my grade 9 and 10 years.