Alex Cousins '19 Recruiting Profile

From has far back as I can remember, I have had a soccer ball at my feet.  My love of the game has prompted a passion for health and athletic fitness.  I read and watched numerous books and videos to better my understanding of personal fitness and training.  Not only do I want to continue to play soccer in college, I want to continue my education with a degree as an athletic trainer to better myself and help others in the future.  I feel so passionately about my career choice, that I organized and raised money for a school-wide recognition of all the hard work our athletic trainer has done.  These awards and gifts were presented to her at a large school function.  I also help coach and train youth who have a similar passion for soccer as I do. As a year-round high school varsity athlete and premier soccer player,  I have battled numerous injuries that I've had to overcome.  In the past year, I popped my achilles heal, split my head open requiring seven staples, and severed a tendon in my big toe.  These injuries required guidance from the schools athletic trainer and my own perseverance, resulting in missing minimal field time. In fact, I played the entire soccer season with a cast on my big toe to stabilize the tendon which led to participating in an experimental treatment so that I didn't miss a single day of practice or play time.  This option prevented the need for surgery and will become a case study for alternative treatment for Mallet toe.

Every athlete is inspired by their own favorite player.  Personally, I'm most influenced by Ronaldinho, who plays not for money or fame but for the love of the sport. He wants the sport to be played in it's purest form.  My favorite quote from him is "Football is about joy.  It's about dribbling. I favor every idea that makes the game beautiful. Every good idea has to last" - Ronaldinho.  As a future college soccer player and athletic trainer, I'd would love to see my goals and ideas last beyond my career.