Stephen Hanna '22 Recruiting Profile

I became interested in soccer when I was about 3 years old.  This is how my Dad and I spent quality time together when I was a younger.  This continues to be a strong bond today, as we both love the game.  Soccer has been such an important part of my life. It has taught me many life lessons about overcoming obstacles and perseverance. Soccer has given me many opportunities to prove myself and sometimes to prove others wrong.  I learned a valuable life lesson between my U12 and U13 soccer season.  I was relegated to a lower level team due to my small size.  That demotion devastated me for a couple of weeks.  I met with my strength and conditioning coach after the set back. He stressed to me that I would face many obstacles in my life, on and off the field.  He gave me valuable advice that I could either let the obstacle become a road block or I use the obstacle to grow and run through it.  I followed his advice and used this as an opportunity to grow and mature as a soccer player and in life.  At the beginning of the season I changed my jersey number to number 23.  The change in number was not for some famous soccer player but because I read a quote from Michael Jordan that stated, "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."  I adopted that mentality in my career.  I would use these failures to help me to succeed.  At the end of the season, I was name team MVP after scoring over 30 goals and I was promoted back to my old team.  A few years later there was another coach who believed that I was too small for his style of play.  He suggested if I wanted to play at that premier level I should find a new club.  So, I found a new club and team that year.  Soon after joining the new team, the coach and players voted me captain for the year for my leadership skills on the field.  At the end of the season my new team played a match against my previous team.  Late in the second half, I ripped the game winning shot from 18 yards out and provided an assist earlier in the match.  After the match my old team mates congratulated me and let me know they wished I still played with them.  It was very rewarding to show a coach who doubted my size, that I was more than capable of playing and being successful at a high level.  Instead of being defeated by the road blocks that I have faced, I have used them to work harder, persevere and grow.  Being knocked down has only driven me to be a better person and player.

My dad has made me watch many motivational speakers over the years so that I can learn what it takes to be successful in life and on the field.  One of my favorites is the Head Football Coach at the University of Alabama, Nick Saban.  From watching his speeches I have learned that I need to have a vision for my life.  One of my visions is to play soccer after high school.  In order to successfully accomplish this vision, I've learned that I need to be disciplined and follow a process.  So when I don't feel like getting in a thousand touches or taking a few hundred shots a day, I need to have to the discipline to make myself follow my practice regime. As Coach Saban stresses to the players you will either experience the pain of discipline or the pain of disappointment. As he tells his players, you either invest your time in becoming better or you spend your time on unnecessary things. I've also taken away three important points that every player can control each day when training or playing: First, I can give 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time.  Second, I can have mental toughness to persevere and overcome adversity.  Third, I need to be responsible to do my job and focus on what I can bring to the team.  I truly believe that the coaches that I have would tell you that I try to outwork everyone on the training field; that when things are not going my way or well for the team that that I have the mental toughness to overcome the adversity; and finally I strive to do my job to the best of my ability. Additionally, being an all-state cross-country runner has provided me with exceptional endurance.  So late in matches I am not as fatigued as others on the field.  This allows me to continue to be mentally focused, do my job and be disciplined for longer periods of time.  So I hope to bring these traits to the college or university level.

One of the highlights of my soccer career was going to Chievo Verona's International Residential Academy for three months to train with their youth academy.  I learned how to survive in a totally new culture.  I was able to challenge myself as a student of soccer. I lived there without my family.  I had to learn to wake up on time and go to bed early enough to have enough energy to train.  I trained for over 6 hours a day and was able to maintain my schoolwork each day.  Through this experience, I learned many valuable traits such as discipline, hard work, leadership, and determination.  Additionally, this experience gave me a glimpse into what it takes to play soccer at a higher level since this youth academy was part of a Series A club at that time. I believe many of the lessons I learned during this experience will help me to adjust to college life much easier.  I look forward to attending a college or university that can help me to continue to improve on the soccer field as well as in the classroom. I believe that many of the characteristics I possess will help me to have a positive impact on your program. Through my experiences, I believe I have what it takes to make your team better.