Jonathan Lopez-Leblanc '24 Recruiting Profile

For as long as I can remember, soccer has always been part of my life, but being selected out of thousands of players who had attended a Barça Camp to travel to Spain and compete in the Donosti Cup when I was 10 years old definitely made me realize that soccer was more than just a hobby. Being part of a team made of players from nine different countries, who had never played together before and to make it until the quarterfinals, was not only a great experience, but also a huge success. However, I feel like I grew the most as a person when I moved from Montreal, Canada to Colorado the summer before my freshman year. While at first it was stressful and hard to move to a new country and learn a new language, I look back on it now and realize it has shaped me into who I am now. Once again, soccer played a key role in my integration: in the middle of the Covid pandemic, being a newcomer, without having any friends, I was chosen MVP of my High School team during my freshman year and again the following year.

Playing soccer at a highly competitive level taught me the value of teamwork, commitment, hard work and most of all, to enjoy the present because nothing lasts forever. For my next step, I am looking for a program that will be a good fit for me athletically and most importantly academically. I am looking forward to playing soccer at college level as I believe I have the talent and I can contribute greatly to any team. I am a fast learner, have a great vision of the game and can generate creative plays. A former coach once described me, when I was awarded the “fourth star” award, as follows: “He is not the fastest nor the strongest player, but without him, the team would not be the same. He always gives 200% and even when the team is behind, he will bring everyone’s spirit up and will never give up.”