Juan Zerpa '21 Recruiting Profile

I believe that one of the most important aspects of a player has to do with his background, where did he grew up, what kind of family does he have, how was his childhood and what kind of values does the athlete have. From there I will like to explain who I am. My name is Juan Andres Zerpa Stopello, I come from a European family that after WWII decided to move to America, but in this case South America in Venezuela. My dad´s family comes from Spain and my mom has a mixture of Italian with German heritage. We as a family, have been attached to the US  for several generations, my grandmother graduated from high school in the US (Indiana) my Dad with a Baseball Scholarship graduated from Cumberland University to proceed afterwards his baseball career after graduation and then retire and become a strong executive in the corporate world in LATAM. In my case I have been attending an American school since kinder garden and that is why my English is almost my mother language.

I grew up in a very athletic house, dad eventhough he stopped his professional baseball career, has always been an active athlete playing high amateur levels of different disciplines (Tennis, Softball among others) and my mother also is a very athletic woman been an Aerobics and Dance teacher as well as a Gym fan. With sports as a strong background, academics are the most precious attribute in my Family, my Grand Father was a PHD in Civil Engineer as well as an Economist, my Uncle held a Chair in the National Academy of Medicine, my dad holds an MBA with honors as well as several special professional trainings in very prestigious schools such as Harvard and Cornell, so overall I have grew up in an environment where excellence and striving to evolve constantly in the best version of yourself is a must. Family key values such as Honesty, Perseverance, Courage, Discipline, Hard work, Humbleness in company with the Lord are our credo.

As an athlete I decided to play soccer since I was 6 years old and my vision is to eventually become a Professional Goalkeeper. Very early in my career I won the opportunity to travel overseas, my first experience was when I was 8 years old and eventhough I was 2 years younger than the expected age I gain my chance to go to Italy and be part of the Venezuelan A.C Milan top athletes. That experience gave me  a different perspective of what I needed to do to make a difference in the game. After that I participated in international tournaments such as Villareal F.C. Yellow cup as well as different  Goalkeeper technification camps working with Top Goalkeepers coaches from the Real Academia de Futbol de España. For the past 3 years I have constantly worked with Carlos Exposito (former Atletic de Madrid goalkeeper coach certified by the Spanish soccer federation) in order to strengthen my technique. During this past Christmas I traveled to Spain to work with him as a pre season camp.

As a player my most significant achievement was 2 years ago when we became Venezuela National Elite Champions U-14 at the penalty round. I was capable of stopping one penalty so that my team Metropolitanos FC for the first time ever was able to hold a National Title. Nevertheless I believe that day in and out, every day that I am at the field defending the colors of my team is a significant achievement, giving the best of me every play, every game, the entire season in order to support my Teammates, my Coach and the Organization, is my most significant achievement. That is a never ending story and I believe that should be the story of every athlete, after that, wins will always follow for sure.

In the field my main concern is to assure that my team is properly set up at all times, assuring proper defensive positions, constantly communicating with my players in order to give them all possible support. I constantly talk to my players, sometimes I can be overwhelming for some players but I strongly believe on anticipation, order and constant communication. As a strength I will say that I am a Natural leader and with enough courage to face any situation. I constantly work so that my defense is well organize and I will have less to worry, but I do not mind being the most valuable player of the match. I strongly believe in the team, individuality is a great attribute in some circumstances, but the team is the attribute that will make you win championships!.

I am a very passionate player and eventhough at times it is a strength, it can work in my disadvantage if I don’t control myself. I have a strong character and above all I love winning, so self control and being more supportive and comprehensive are areas where I need to work. As I said at the beginning of my presentation I will constantly strive to present my best possible version at all times… It´s my most valuable learning and my most precious family heritage: ¨constantly strive for excellence¨...

Best Regards,

Juan Andres Zerpa

(JuanXi)