Mateo Pirz '22 Recruiting Profile

   I began playing soccer at 6 years old and became very passionate about the game at around 11 years old. I have learned many lessons from the game along the way as this game has brought the best and worst out of me emotionally. As time has passed I’ve grown better at controlling my emotions while playing and transforming frustration into motivation. I see more clearly the importance of not only me becoming a better player but also being a good teammate that contributes to the success of the players around me and enjoys the process of growing and developing together.

     My work ethic can be attributed to my parents who constantly reinforce the idea that hard work pays off. When it comes to academics, I am as committed to them as I am with soccer.  I tend to be a highly competitive person in all aspects of my life, but soccer is my passion. During the summer between 6th and 7th grade my family and I were evaluating my options for high school. Of the two high schools that were in our town, one had a much better reputation for academics but unfortunately didn’t have a soccer team. I wanted both. So my family and I worked with the school that was better academically for the next two years to try and establish a boys soccer program at the school by the time that I was a freshman. We were able to make it happen by fundraising for the program and recruiting players from my club to attend that school.  We started the program from scratch as freshman and now as seniors we intend to compete for the league championship. I take great pride in what we've started and what we've been able to accomplish so far.

    On the soccer pitch my two strongest attributes are my  fitness/athleticism and my knowledge/mental awareness of the game situation and on field opportunities. I've been the Captain of my club team for the past four years and my coach has told me I earned it through being a leader and motivating teammates to push themselves in practice and in games. The team I play for has had to work hard to get where we are, we’re a small club drawing from a limited area but playing in a very competitive region. We have put in the work and developed both as individuals and as a team, we’re now playing at the premier level for NorCal.  I may have been able to develop faster as an individual player by switching to a bigger club; but my teammates and I have put so much work into trying to grow the reputation of our club by playing in higher divisions than most clubs our size and I have always felt like it was the right decision for me to stay at the teammates and club that sparked my love for the game.