Dane Jones '23 Recruiting Profile

Although I currently live in central Pennsylvania, the first 11 years of my life were spent in Berlin, Germany. My family and I are all American citizens, but my parents' work took us overseas. I started playing on club teams there at the age of 6 and developed a love for the game. I believe that learning how to play soccer in a different country helped me to gain a broader perspective of the game. My training there focused heavily upon technical skills and teamwork. When I came to the United States I had to adapt my game to help me compete in leagues where more aggressive play was typical. I can now see that having lived overseas and being used to a different culture was a big benefit to my development as a person, and as a player. At that time, however, it was challenging to adapt. Although I was American, I was now doing school in English for the first time in my life. I didn't always seem to fit in whether in the classroom, hanging out with friends, or on the soccer pitch. Thankfully I have been able to adjust well over the last few years. Soccer has helped me to learn that I am friendly, adaptable, a good team player, that I am very competitive, and that I have the ability to be a leader on and off the field.

Overcoming these challenges has taught me that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to, if I remain teachable. I strive to set concrete goals for myself, and excel at whatever task is at hand.  For example, my goal is to have over a 3.5 GPA all four years of high school. I'm currently in my junior year and have a cumulative GPA of 3.94. I am determined to work hard to maintain this high standard, not only in high school but also as I move on to college where I plan on majoring in Sports Management or Business. My hope is to be a coach one day.

One thing I value about soccer is that it is a team sport. I enjoy working with my fellow players to achieve a common goal. I'm very extroverted and love the opportunity that a team setting gives me to build relationships with the other players, and to help them develop as players. For example in the Spring of 2021 I voluntarily initiated a training time twice a week after school to help other players on my school team improve their skills in preparation for the Fall season. It was exciting to see the impact this had, as our team then made it the playoffs this Fall for the first time in 10 years.

While soccer is my main sport, I also play high school basketball, I am a part of our community swim team in the summers, and I enjoy skiing as a hobby. I'm involved at my church, where I serve as a helper in the pre-school program on some Sunday mornings, and I'm also a part of the youth group.