John Gilroy '25 Recruiting Profile

Soccer has been a big part of my life’s journey so far.  The game and the people I have met along the way have shown me a lot about myself and who I want to become.  I have been playing for FC Westchester since I was in 2nd grade.  FC Westchester is a top club team in my area and it attracts some of the best players in the NY tri-state region.  By surrounding myself with quick, strong and smart players, I challenged myself to become quicker, stronger, and smarter.   Over time, this experience has led me to develop a calmness, prowess, and ball control that I think separates me from other players.  It also led me to be selected as the youngest player on the Rye Galaxy, my town team, where I played for the past three years. Over the years, we have beaten some great club program and have proven ourselves to be a formidable team.

As I have grown, soccer has also taught me to appreciate the highs and lows of hard-fought competition and the sense of accomplishment that comes for setting a high goal and achieving it.  For example, after playing on my high school junior varsity squad as a freshman, I set a goal of making the varsity team in 10th grade, which is a rather rare thing at my high school.  After spending the off-season training both on and off the field, I accomplished my goal and became the only sophomore to be selected, much less start, for my varsity team.    

Being part of the Varsity team this past year has been another rewarding challenge.  The expectations our team has for ourselves are very high.  We continually push ourselves in training and on game day.  By putting ourselves in challenging situations we have progressed and been successful as a team, going 6-0 in league play this past season, sending us to the sectional playoffs.  This experience has taught me the value of being someone others can count on, even through tough and stressful situations, and the confidence one gains through thoughtful preparation. Not to mention that the bonds that I have created with my teammates have made them some of my closest friends.   

So as my life journey continues into college, I very much want soccer to be a part of it.  I love the game of soccer, and I appreciate the relationships, experiences, and tools that it has given me so far to help me grow and prepare for life’s challenges that lay ahead.  In college, my goal is to play soccer at an academically rigorous institution, where I can be challenged every day (both on the field and in the classroom), compete, make friendships and have fun.