Joshua Karoub '24 Recruiting Profile

Walt Disney once proclaimed that there were four C's that made up his secret formula of success.  Those C's are curiosity, confidence, courage and constancy.  My love for soccer began with at the age of 8.  I remember the very first time I had any experience with soccer whatsoever.  A family friend had a daughter one year older than I was, and she was playing.  Our family attended the first game to cheer her on.  That game captured my initial curiosity.  I expressed my interest to my parents who quickly made the investment into cleats, shin guards and socks,  and signed me up to begin playing that very same season.  At that age, our few local club teams only played each other and another club team from a neighboring town, but it was enough to light the spark within me to continue to stay active with soccer through my middle school years.  In middle school we had a strong coach who pushed to travel and become a part of a much larger league.  We began playing other area teams every Sunday and my passion and talent continued to grow.

It wasn't until my Freshman year of high school that I was able to play on my first school team.  There is so much I remember from that first year of high school varsity soccer.  It truly transformed the passion that I have for the sport.  Our team was comprised of 9 seniors, 7 of whom were some of the best players to come out of our high school.  As a freshman, it was intimidating to introduced to a much larger field, much faster team and to competitors who were fierce.  From day one, the relationships that I built with those seniors made a tremendous impact on not only my athletics, but also my social experiences and my work ethic.  These seniors helped shape my game through their encouragement, motivation and continuous strive for excellence.   They pushed me to run faster, get infront of the ball and control every move that I made.   That team made it all the way to regionals and were up against one of the toughest teams in the state.  At the end of our second half the score was tied 1:1.  We went into 2 overtimes, where each team had scored one additional point.  The pride that our team, the attendees and our coach radiated could be felt for miles.  The nerves could also be felt.  In the final few seconds of the second overtime a mistake was made on my part.  I couldn't tell you exactly what happened that night, but as soon as I saw the ball hit our net, I knew it was on me.  Call it nerves, call it lack of experience, but it happened and it hurt.  I remember the overwhelming feeling of guilt and grief that came over my entire body in those brief moments that followed.  It was like the world was moving in slow motion.  Immediately I thought, "I just took a regional championship away from my team."

Courage can be witnessed and experienced in so many ways. That night those seniors showed me their courage, their grace and their respect.  With disappointment in their minds, they opened their gracious hearts and surrounded me with nothing but encouragement and support once again.  The level of dignity that they demonstrated will forever be in my heart.  It is from them that I have learned how to be a part of a team, how to lead, how to encourage and how to grant grace and space for mistakes. Now even when the game gets hard, I can think back to those seniors who paved the way for me and pay it forward.

Ever since my freshman year of playing soccer, I have worked hard to show up everyday determined, ready and devoted to the game.  It takes constancy and passion to juggle a full work load as a high school student.  Besides my passion for soccer, I also play basketball in the winter and run track in the spring and work at a golf course in the summer.  In addition, I play percussion in our high school band and perform leading roles in our high school musical program.   All of these commitments I have made, have also given me strength in leadership and work ethic.   I am a true scholar athlete and desire to continue that path and passion throughout my college experience, post high school graduation.  

I believe that success is not something you can achieve just once.  Success can be felt when progress toward the end goal is made!  Considering Disney's 4 C's, I would agree that it all starts with a dream and a genuine curiosity and everything that follows with gaining confidence, courage and constancy, helps shape a lifetime of successes ahead.   I am willing and prepared to put in the work and hope to be considered into a winning collegiate soccer program in the fall of 2024!