Personal Statement
My name is Samara Weissmann and I am 5'8 center back/outside midfielder at the International School of Basel in Basel, Switzerland as well as on my club team, FC Reinach. I am 17 years old and currently going through my Senior year. I have been a starter for every game on my High school team since Freshman year and I am now the captain my senior year. I was voted player of the tournament at the SGIS tournament in Lugano, Switzerland Freshman year and MVP my junior year. During our Junior year we were placed second in the ESSL tournament. For my club team, I play for two teams. My main team is U21, where I am the youngest girl on the team. However, I am always still starting each game. I am often matched up against even older women during games, sometimes the oldest being 25. The other team I play on is my appropriate age group, being U17. We recently got 1st place this June in the Basler Cup-Sieger 2017. (Sieger translated from german to english means winner)
I have a strong left foot and great passing skills. I always play with my head up on a swivel on the field as I am a natural defender. I am very fast and make quick recovery runs. I am full of grit and never give up on a play. I am a good team leader on and off the field, and always try to pick up my teammates. I am very coachable and always come to the coaches for advice on how to improve my skills or touches to make me a stronger player.
I am a very good student and push myself extremely hard with academics as I am in the IB system. I have a 3.5 GPA (it is hard to convert to the american grading system as at my school we do the IB). For my intended major, I would like to go into Communications, Graphic design, and Sports management. As my life mainly revolves around my school work and soccer, I still try to be actively involved in my School as I took part in a service Trip to South Africa that took more than a year to prepare for my sophomore/junior year, take part in MUN and many other clubs.
I plan to consider colleges that are a good match for me academically and athletically, that will push me to strive to my very best. I've been playing the beautiful game since I was 2 years old, and have always been keen to play soccer in college, but became a lot more important and meaningful to me when I moved from California to Switzerland my Freshman year. As being an international student, it makes it harder for college coaches to see me. I have been and continue to put in the effort, determination, willpower and confidence that is needed in order for this dream to come true.
