Personal Statement
My passion for soccer started at a young age, ever since my father took me to my first soccer match. Since then I have been playing soccer professionally for local academies. I still remember watching Juventus games and dreaming of becoming a professional soccer player. My aspiration is to get recruited for a D1 team and elite university. For me it is very important for the school to not only be athetically competitive but also academically. As an individual I strive to achieve both my athletic and academic goals. Although I am still deciding what to pursue, my interests fall in the Social Sciences, such as Economics, Business, and Sports Management.
I joined my first soccer academy at a young age with the U-9 team of Partizani. Ever since then I have continued to play soccer professionally every single day, with high levels of passion and dedication. These qualities have been reflected on the fact, that for the past 3 years I have been the captain of my team. Being a team captain puts high expectations on my shoulders and large amounts of responsibility. Furthemore my position puts a lot of pressure on me to not make mistakes, as I am the last line of defence. Being a center back means I can see the whole pitch in front of me and give instructions for people that cannot look behind. The position that I play requires a lot of confidence, meaning I regard myself as a high quality player, despite this I pride myself in being humble, as soccer is a team sport which requires good communication and understanding between teammates.
These leadership qualities have given me the confidence to also succeed in school and manage my academic responsibilities. Being an excellent student-athlete requires time management skills, perseverance, and commitment. My academics helps me with my soccer position as the center back role takes a lot of intelligence, for example placing offside traps, the offside rule in soccer is one of the most delicate rules in soccer that defenders can use to their advantage. A good offside trap takes intelligence in timing, organization, and understanding of the game.
I have played soccer my whole life in Albania, a country where soccer is the biggest sport and is taken very seriously. Albanian soccer has progressed a lot in the 21st century, as it has been influenced by elite European soccer teams. Since soccer is the largest sport in Albania, most young kids grow up aspiring to be soccer players, meaning I have a lot of competition, a factor that drives me to work harder and stand out amongst a crowd. Other than Albanian soccer, I have also experienced training at one of the biggest clubs in the world, Juventus. In 2016 I had the privilege of travelling to Turin to participate in a training camp, playing on the same training field as Juventus’ first team. There I learned a lot from top european soccer coaches, and was recognized by the coaches with awards. Out of all the players that participated, the coaches had to decide on 3 players to receive a special reward, a signed soccer ball from Claudio Marchisio. I was one of the 3 players to receive a ball, and furthermore I received an extra ball purely for sportsmanship. I have also been to 2 other Juventus training camps in 2018 and 2019. To this day I still keep the balls in my room, as a reminder to continue pursuing my dreams.
I really hope that I get recruited for a D1 program in an elite university, as I would be a great asset to any team, bringing European ideas and passion to an american team.
