Ben Illsley '18 Recruiting Profile

My name is Ben Illsley and I am in Year 12 (junior) at Worthing College, Worthing, England.

I am a highly competitive person with a passion for sport. I represented my previous school at soccer, rugby, track and field, basketball and cricket. In August 2016 I moved to a specialist 16-18 years college where I am studying Advanced Levels in Geography, Physical Education and Psychology.  I am also part of the Gifted and Talented Sports Performance Programme at Worthing College. Outside of school I play for a local soccer team and row for my town’s rowing club, competing in regattas as part of a quad. However my passion is track and field where I represent Worthing Harriers track and field club.  

I have competed at the local club for 3 years, representing them at both under 15 and under 17 level. These competitions have included youth league and adult league competitions where I have helped the team in a variety of events including triple, long and high jump and the 4x400 relay. Furthermore, in last years school sports day I won the 100 metres, 200 metres, triple jump, high jump and 4 x100 metres relay.

Since focusing on triple jump I have been 2014 Under 15 and 2016 Under 17 Sussex County champion. I hold three of the 4 school records in triple jump and have been selected to represent Sussex. At the recent County Championships I jumped my personal best of 12 metres 6 centimetres (39ft 7inches).

I want to compete at the highest level possible and believe the American collegiate system provides the best opportunity to achieve this whilst gaining a quality education. Training on a daily basis with a clear focus on competition will push me to the limit. This is an environment that I really feel I will flourish in as I am positive and hard working.

I have great interest in sports and would like to take a degree related to this. I am interested in health, physical education, sports media and sports coaching. I am particularly interested in sports media and coaching as I would like a career relating to these fields

I am a good student and I am proud of my academic record, regularly being awarded maximum effort grades on my termly reports.  In June 2016 I achieved excellent results in my national GCSE exams with an A* in Geography, A in Math, A in Physical Education, Double A in Science, B in English Language, B in English Literature, B in Food and Nutrition and C in Spanish and Religious Studies.

My parents are very supportive of me and are encouraging me to explore the opportunity of continuing my education in America. My father spent 12 summers travelling extensively in America coaching in soccer camps and I now share his passion for American culture and sport.

Outside of school I volunteer my time by helping with a local junior school’s soccer club. In addition to this I have completed the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver Awards. These Awards consists of learning a new skill, taking part in physical activity, volunteering, planning and completing multi-day expeditions as part of a team and took a year to complete. Currently, I am challenging the Gold Award.