Smera Patel '26 Recruiting Profile

Hi Coaches, my name is Smera, I'm 16 and I'm from Melbourne, Australia. Saying soccer is a big part of my life would be an understatement. Soccer is not just part of my life, it is a living, breathing, part of our family. Playing for both my school and club not only takes up 6 days a week, but has taught me skills such as time management to balance the training load with school and extracurriculars, alongside the value of recovery and the ability to get along with different groups of people. 

Before moving to Australia in 2018, I had been playing soccer in Oman since I the age 7, however, when I moved I did not pick up soccer again until 2022. Here in Victoria the leagues are fairly straight forward, the bottom 4 leagues are community leagues, starting from the Cs, Bs, As, and eventually ending up at the Community Premier League, it is then followed by the league in which football Victoria plays and with professional pathways, the National Premier League. Naturally, when I first started playing soccer here I played in the Cs for Ringwood City's U15s (an age group up). In 2023, I was asked to play for Boroondara Eagles in their U17 Community Premier League Team (both two leagues and two age groups up).

My club team (Box Hill United U17) plays in the National Premier League the top youth league and the second tier professional league. The U17s league mandates only 17 players on a gameday squad, but with a squad of 21 not everyone gets to play, much like a college squad. This has taught me to go every training and push myself to earn my spot on the matchday squad. However, it has also taught me mental strength. Much like College soccer I don't and will not get to play any game, that has taught me just put my head down and work even harder to earn game time in the next game.

On a more academic front however, I am interested in law, politics and international relations and look forward to studying it at college. Through high school so far, I have been heavily involved in Model United Nations, making it to the State Finals last year and finishing 11/472 in the state, a feat my partner and I hope to repeat later and better this year. Furthermore, I was also part of this year's Victorian Youth Parliament, an extremely selective program involving young people aged 16-25. Across around 6 months of work my team and I researched, drafted and eventually passed a bill about Hospital Ramping within Victoria. This Bill will now be passed onto the Victorian Youth Minister to determine if it can be put into Victorian Legislation. Lastly, I am now in the process of organising an internship with my local state representative. Through these experiences I hope to not only gain insight into areas of interest for me, but also help make meaningful change in my community. Unfortunately, my school being in Australia does not offer AP or Honours classes, however, despite being in Grade 11, I have accelerated one subject (the maximum my school allows) and I am preparing for my Grade 12 Economics exam at the end of October 2024.

At College I hope to continue learning about Politics and International Relations while pursuing my collegiate soccer goals and continuing to play till graduation and hopefully beyond.