Leila LeBlanc '23 Recruiting Profile

My name is Leila LeBlanc, a Senior at Cromwell High school, and this is my 4th year as a Varsity player.  This past Fall was great as a team, where we finished 2nd in the conference with a record of 10-3. Personally I’ve had a tough year. Last spring I got injured during a game and experienced frequent dislocations of my kneecap. After 4 months of recovery I came back for the fall season but two games in I was sent to the hospital after worsening my injury. The MRI showed a locked knee, meaning that I had a bucket handle tear in my meniscus and it flipped into my joint preventing me from walking or even straightening my leg. I had surgery in mid August, and was back on the field 4 weeks later. I’ve continued to train hard in order to catch up to my team, and seeing as I’ve been moved from center back to holding mid.
Soccer has been a part of my life since before I started school when I joined Oakwood SC at four years old. I stayed there for about five years before I switched to my current premier club, Sporting CT, as well as joining my town travel team. Being part of a very active family, I was introduced to several other sports including dance, skiing, snowboarding, basketball, and Tae Kwon Do, where I earned my black belt and won bronze at the Tae Kwon Do Junior Nationals.  That year I also ran XC to build up my endurance and within two years I went from a 20 minute player to a full game player.

I am going on to my seventh year at Sporting CT , playing center back and occasionally defensive center mid. I have played in other positions, but I've usually played in the central positions.  As a Defender, I use my ability to see and recognize patterns in player movement to block my opponents attacks early and as high up the field as possible, and on the attack I am able to make quick directional one touch passes or accurate delivery of long balls to drive the ball up the field to impact the game. I’m a very vocal player in back and communicate what I see to my teammates, and at 5'-9" I am a physically strong player able to handle most game challenges. 

Academically, I am in the top 20 of my class and hope to finish out my high school years with high honors and place in the top fifteen in my class rank. In college, I’d like to explore a career in health science in an academically challenging environment.  

Going forward, I am excited to build on last fall's momentum as the Captain of my team and prepare me for a competitive collegiate environment with a coach that can help me reach the next level as a player and athlete.