Personal Statement
Everyone is unique - in either good ways, bad ways or both. The qualities that we have really determine our character. I am a team player. My parents have always raised me to be fair and to be a good sportsman. I wish I was more selfish but the truth is that, although my personal statistics are important to me, one person is not a team. It takes 11 players to win. If a team is built around one player's personality, it can certainly bring sweet success but it can also be a team's demise - kind of like removing one card and causing the whole deck to fall. I would rather "assist" or set up a play that results in a goal that results in the team winning than selfishly try to score, even when someone is in a better position than me.
I am different from other recruits in that I am humble. I listen to my coach. I follow the game plan. I take criticism very well. I never frown if my coach calls me to the sideline to either give me some extra advice or to chide me for a shortcoming on the field. I take it all in stride. I take the feedback as motivation to lift my game and to improve consistently.
I have a passion for soccer (we call it football here) that is no different from any other recruit. I will put out my all, even if I am not feeling well. Playing is that important to me. It makes me feel alive; it makes me happy. I have seen my parents and my coach try to build confidence in others, try to bring out the best in others. Sometimes that is all a player needs - encouragement, even if it is a criticism. Even as a junior player on my team last year, I tried to encourage others in their game and to support the team, even when I was on the bench. Everyone has potential and we don't have to elevate ourselves at another player's expense. When there is animosity within a team, it doesn't produce the best results. A team has to be together - all for one, one for all (like the Three Musketeers). Everyone has a role to play.
The dynamic of my team this year is just amazing. There is camaraderie and laughter. We are really brethren - even though we go our separate ways after the season ends in December. It is because we have/had a shared purpose, a shared goal, which is/was to win the Ben Francis Cup and the Dacosta Cup. We were the underdogs and we are now in the top four of the 64 teams that started out in September (third actually). We have accomplished much but we cannot let the "hype" get to us. We have to FOCUS!!! Next season is right around the corner. By July, we will be back into the pre-season training and fixtures.
I take the qualities that make me an okay human being into my training and game. I am committed. I put out extra effort to improve myself. My collegiate goal is to: earn my first degree in an area that I have a natural affinity for and which I am passionate about and to play for a NCAA Division I team that wins successive titles. I want to be mentored and to, likewise, mentor as I have been mentored. I can only hope that my honesty, more than anything else and my willingness to listen and learn, are what will make any coach think me a good candidate for his team.
Since I am being frank, my greatest weakness is how I balance sports and academics. When I am playing ball, that is where my head and heart are. If there is a subject that is challenging or that I am not passionate about, I might put off that distraction from my game so as not to add more stress. My parents are a great source of support and they always remind me of the need to balance. In college, they will not be there and I will have to manage the transition on my own. Of course, this is a caution but at least it indicates what support I may need.
On the other hand, while I do need to balance, whatever subjects I am very comfortable with, I am always happy to work with another athlete to explain or clarify something because I need to ensure that there is no threat to the team.
That is me - David "Gibbo" Givans.
