Jillian Buckley '24 Recruiting Profile

Having grown up as an international student, I have lived in over 7 locations during my life, nearly all of them being overseas including Thailand, Japan, Slovenia and currently Germany. Whatever may be changing, soccer was and is a constant for me. I grew up in an athletically centered household where I was always encouraged to be in a sport. From swimming to volleyball to ballet, out of all of these, soccer was the most influential and significant in my life, the one that really stuck with me from day one. No matter where I would move, my dad would always support me in my soccer aspirations whether that would be getting me on a team or helping me train on my own when we were in locations where a team was not available due to the remoteness. These various international environments have given me the opportunity to participate in many different teams and learn from several coaching styles, most recently through competing in the Verbandsliga in Germany and serving on the ODP Europe team. I have been privileged to compete with and against women beyond my age group through these teams. Being pushed out of my comfort zone at times, these challenges have taught me resilience, determination, perseverance and a constant desire to improve to better serve my teammates. 

I continue to push myself through conditioning, ball control training, and seeking high academic standards. Maintaining a high GPA is a consistent goal of mine, and has taught me time management skills so that I may balance this goal with my soccer training. Ever since I can remember, applying myself to maximize the opportunities I have been given has been a priority. Thankfully, this is much less a chore for me as soccer is a place that allows me to escape from the world, an atmosphere that I am eager to work in and improve in each day. 

In summary, I have benefited from competing internationally against the Bundesliga in ODP Europe, as a key starter on my high school team (we won the championship in DoDEA Europe last year for Division l) and through 1. FFC Kaiserslautern. Every day I get to play soccer is a blessing, and I look forward to pushing myself academically and athletically in the future.