Lauren Watts '20 Recruiting Profile

Playing soccer was something I did to catch up with all the other kids at the park. I was born a preemie and my grandfather often told me stories that I was so little, he could hold me in the palm of his hand. While I’m sure he exaggerated some, he is 6”4 so his hands are larger than most. No one in my family knew anything about soccer but I began playing every weekend and soon enough I went from recreational soccer to Club soccer and have played nonstop for 10 years. 

Soccer has been a way for me to show my strengths but work on my weaknesses. I was not the leader growing up. I am a middle child so  following was what I did best, until I began playing Club soccer. As a center back, I had to take charge, be the coach on the field and speak to my back line. This was hard for me and now that I’ve gotten older, it comes more easily but it wasn’t in the beginning. I’m strong and fast and have worked hard to improve the technical side of my game.  I’m a dedicated soccer player and have shown both dedication and loyalty to my teammates and coaches throughout the years. I work hard and support my soccer family as much as possible. I’m solid and dependable and work well with my coaches. I’m primarily a center back but have played outside back as well as forward when the need arises, particularly in high school. Overall, it’s these traits that I think make me a valuable player in college and a good teammate. 

Heading to college and playing soccer is important to me but so is being a good student. I love high school and look forward to going to college.  I don’t know exactly what I want to do but I’m interested in International Affairs, with an emphasis in Latin America. Being a student-athlete will probably be a challenge, but I’ve grown so much since my days as a preemie that this is just another “goal” to achieve.