Personal Statement
My name is Tyler Cross and I will be in the graduating class of 2019 at the American School in Japan (ASIJ). I am a dual citizen of Japan and Australia and have resided in Tokyo my entire life. I consider myself to be an extremely well balanced student with consistent honor roll or high-honor role standings, as well as numerous achievements in a variety of sports, some of which include holding a black belt in Japanese Kyokushin karate and various awards in soccer and American football.
I have been passionate about soccer my whole life, competing in a variety of local teams at various levels before my acceptance to the school varsity team as a sophomore last year. Additionally, I have participated in soccer camps abroad including Chelsea FC in London, LA Galaxy in Los Angeles, as well as with Seacoast United at Phillips Exeter’s summer program. This has allowed me to experience two very different styles of soccer; a style unique to Japan versus the styles usually associated with play in the US and UK. As a result of these experiences, I have been able to fine tune my capabilities to become a strong yet flexible player, with an ability to anticipate the plays of my various international team members and opposition players. This, I consider to be one of my strongest attributes. This year I also competed in the Las Vegas Mayors Cup where my school placed 3rd in the Adidas East division, and was scouted to play in the Dallas Cup in April 2017.
Academically, from the second grade I have taken online classes for advanced learning with Stanford (EPGY) and Johns Hopkins University (CTY) as well as participating in their summer camps each year of elementary school. Later, I advanced those studies at both Phillips Academies during my middle and high school summers. During my time at Phillips Exeter last year I studied sports science, which led to my current project of developing a visual application for coaches and players to study their games at a bird’s-eye view through chip technology planted in the ball and shoes. So while soccer is my passion, I am also very passionate about my studies and in particular where the athletics meet the academic. It is my intention to be accepted to a top ranking US college to pursue my soccer career, not just on the field but in the classroom as well.
