Yaroslav Sherling '17 Recruiting Profile

My name is Yaroslav Sherling, my family and friends call me Yarik. I was adopted from Ukraine in 2014, when I was 16 years old. I grew up in an orphanage in a very tiny village in far Eastern Ukraine, an area that is now occupied by Russia. I had never seen an American football until coming to America. When I talked about football, I meant European soccer.

Because school was out for the summer when I arrived in Georgia, my parents asked the football coach if I could join the team and learn to be a kicker. They felt like it would help me learn English and make some friends before school started. Playing football not only taught me English and gave me friends, it taught me lessons I would need to attend a large school.

My school in Ukraine was part of the orphanage and only had 50 students, from four to sixteen years old. Because we were together constantly, my friends were my family. We would fight, but we loved each other as brothers. I didn’t know what a family was like, but playing football was like life in the orphanage. I don’t have to like everyone on my team, but we are a family, working together for the same goal. We see each our differences and our flaws, but we love each other anyway.

I learned that things don’t always come easy, but what I value is worth fighting for. I had kicked soccer balls for years and was very good at it. Kicking a football wasn’t quite as easy. But I went home every day and kicked in my yard. As the summer passed, I was kicking farther and learning to kick it where I wanted it to go. I quickly found that English wasn’t going to be easy either. There is a lot of slang words and phrases that I couldn’t translate. Although I took ESOL during school, all of my other classes were taught without assistance. I would try to take notes by writing what it sounded like they were saying. When I came home and my parents tried to help with homework, we couldn’t tell what my notes were supposed to say. But because I appreciated the gift I was given by being adopted, I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to go to college so I worked even harder on my classes, attending tutoring before school, during lunch and after school, just like I had practiced kicking all summer until I got it right.

Football has also taught me to appreciate the differences in each person. I am not like anyone else at school or on my team, but each of us bring something that can help our team, our school and even our community.

Prior to being adopted, there was no choice of what I would one day become, a soldier in the Ukrainian Army. Orphans have no career options and no marketable skills. College was only for the very elite. Now that I have college as an option, it is sometimes overwhelming to decide what I want to be one day. I would like to attend college and work toward a career working with teenagers. I am so grateful for adoptive parents who traveled around the world to save me from a life with no hope. I want to be able to help other teenagers who are facing a life of crisis. I would love to be able to use sports as a tool to impact kids, either as a coach or as therapy.

My life has been anything but easy. My birth mother was an alcoholic, neglecting to care for me, frequently beating me and making me live outside while she and her friends partied indoors. Being taken away from her probably saved my life. Growing up in an orphanage wasn’t easy either, we were still going to bed hungry and living with no hope of a future. When I turned 16, I was drafted into the Ukrainian Army. My new mom and dad rescued me right before I was to move out of the orphanage. Once again, a move that probably saved my life. When I came to America, I had to learn a new language, culture and how to live as part of a family. I had many obstacles to overcome. But this time, I knew that my hard work would open doors to me that would provide me with a future and change my life forever.

Living in an orphanage can change your personality. No one has a vested interest in you so you learn not to care either. If you do care, you don’t dare tell anyone because it would make you weak. No one holds you accountable for your grades, behavior or character. Being in this environment has given me what my parents call “a very humble heart.” I grew up expecting nothing so it is hard to break that mindset. I’ve faced hunger, neglect, abuse and the worst that society allows for a human. I’ve seen what a blessing the simple things like a family, food, shelter, warm clothes and love are. When other kids were worrying about what brand of clothes, I just wanted shoes that didn’t cramp my toes and have holes in the bottom during the bitter winters in Ukraine. I look all around me and see blessings while so many around me see problems. I am also a very hard worker. The students were responsible for keeping the orphanage clean. From the time we woke up until we went to bed, we had every hour accounted for. I am not afraid to work hard, it is always easier than life in Ukraine! I have been given a new life in America, I plan to take my work ethic and put it to great use, making sure that I never miss an opportunity to improve myself and to help those around me.