Personal Statement
My name is Leo Byrne, and I am a genuine international student athlete.
I currently live in Stockholm with a Swedish mother and an Irish father. I have moved back to Stockholm from Germany after 3 years there, where I was attending Frankfurt International School (FIS). As the top ranked student in my year of 250 students in FIS, I received the academic achievement award. I have always excelled at academics with the highest grades possible. I have a particular interest in the sciences, specifically computer science. Furthermore, I speak 4 languages fluently (English, Swedish, German and French) and I am a calm, confident, social and driven person.
I have been playing competitive basketball since I was 7, and I have a true passion for it. I was a starting 5 for the Swedish youth team Alvik Basket who won the Swedish and Nordic Championship multiple years (2015-2018) and also the Frankfurt Skyliners where we won the German U14 Championship (2019). At the moment, I play for the Alvik Basketball Men’s team in the pro league (3rd Division in Sweden) with a two-way contract to play in the top U19 category as well. In the fall of 2021, I was called up to the U17 Irish National Basketball men’s squad and have started training with that squad and I am aiming to play for Ireland in the FIBA U18 European Championships in 2023.
As a player, I fight hard on every play and for every breaking ball. I am active on both ends of the court and have a very high basketball IQ. I understand what I need to do and where I need to be on the court and follow what the coaches are trying to do for the team. I make each team I play on a better team and although I am hugely talented as an individual scorer with an average of 24 points per game, I believe my real talent is to move, make decisions and execute on the court on each play to make our offense or defense stronger.
I am still developing in every category of my game and my physique. I think I am still growing in height and I have also lots of work to do on getting stronger and bigger. I am looking for a great school who can support me in my academic and basketball development and a school where I can contribute everything that I have both on and off the court.
