- 2020 Highlights
Personal Statement
It is my dream to be able to play soccer whilst benefiting from one of the best educational systems in the world. I fell in love with the sport when I was only 6 years old. At the time I lived in Tokyo, Japan. Thanks to my parents’ jobs I have moved countries a number of times and experienced many different lifestyles and cultures. I was born in Switzerland and lived there for three years, then I moved to London for three years, then Tokyo for four years, followed by Shanghai for three years, and finally Paris. Eventually, after being exposed to many different cultures I developed a skill of being able to adapt very easily. Although I am French, I have been following an international education for the majority of my life (The International Baccalaureate). Despite the frequent changes and relocations throughout my life, my passion for soccer was something I could rely on staying constant, if not, it only kept growing. I have been playing soccer for 10 years. Initially, the reason I started playing was because I was following my older brothers. Now, it is one of the things I am most grateful for, as it has taught me to stay motivated and have strong will power. In Japan I played for a club called FC Chiyoda coached by a former French professional: Nicholas Duez. I learned a lot from him as he was the one who taught me that I shouldn't let my young age keep me from achieving my goals. He would always make me play with players who were 2 or even 4 years older than me. I spent four years at FC Chiyoda and I managed to start every game and win the Mitsubishi Cup in my last year.
When I moved to Shanghai (from ages 10 to 13), I joined the best club in the city called AKSIL. It was a club made of elite football players. I was a starter every year throughout u11 to u13. I was team captain of the u13 team. I was voted MVP of the family day tournament after beating our rivals in the finals: AKSIL Pudong. Every year we were invited to the biggest Asian tournament located in Singapore. In my u12th year, we lost in the quarter finals of the Cup to the winning team of the tournament by one goal.
When I returned to France, I joined one of the best clubs in my department called ES16, I became a starter instantly. I played from u14 to15. During my first year I was the top scorer of the team whilst playing midfielder. We also managed to get a promotion by arriving second of the league. For my second year at ES16 I started playing on the wing and ended the season with 15 goals and 11 assists in just 22 games. We ranked third in the league that year. Throughout the summer of 2019, I joined one of the best Semi-pro clubs in the country called AS Meudon. I became a starter for the A team in November and have remained as one for the rest of the year. AS Meudon has a very good reputation in France and has at least 10 to 20 players signing professional contracts with professional clubs every year. This year I had to adapt to the team's needs and play a more defensive position (CDMCM on occasions), this has developed my football skills further, to become a more versatile player.
I also play on the Varsity team for the International School of Paris. I have been assigned the role of team captain this year, and I have been voted MVP for the 2019-2020 year (our football season is from September to June). The team is coached by a former Benfica Academy player, Carlos Silva.
Regarding my academics, I am currently taking the International Baccalaureate (IB), which is known to be quite a rigorous educational system. For my diploma I chose 6 different subjects (3 high levels, and 3 standard levels): History HL, BIology HL, French A HL and Math SL, English A SL, and Chinese SL. My courses are rather difficult as I have two ‘A languages’ and very demanding subjects. The grade system is out of 7, with 7 being the highest. I have managed to keep quite consistent 6’s for my classes whilst training three times a week with my club, as well as a match every Sunday against the best teams across the Parisian region, In addition to this, I also play once a week with my Varsity team in my school.
I have completed a lot of community service during the last two years, as I was part of a sustainability program which consisted of building a school in Namibia. Throughout one whole academic year we saved up 21,000 euros by making bake-sales, tutoring and other services in order to buy the materials needed and the plane tickets. I have also created my own podcast which is about soccer and basketball, posting episodes on Spotify and SoundCloud. Additionally, I have also been tutoring students in order to help them with their French.
Lastly, one notable feature of myself, is that I greatly dislike losing, and if I do, I'll make sure that I learn from that defeat. I would say that one of the most valuable lessons I have learned throughout my life, is the importance of never giving up and always persevering.
