Brett Crosby '21 Recruiting Profile

Of all the amazing sports, soccer draws me in like no other. With superstars like David Beckham and role models like Philipp Lahm, seeing soccer through their eyes opens my world beyond my small community. Soccer has expanded the depth of who I am in many ways. I desire to travel to other cities, states, even countries, to watch and play the best soccer players. I’ve always had a strong work ethic with my academics, and as my studies increase year upon year, soccer is such a rewarding activity, that helps brings balance to my study-life. With so many people yelling at soccer — parents of teammates, parents of opponents, coaches, even teammates themselves — I’ve learned, over the years, particularly the year that I was 12-years-old, to filter out the hurtful comments and embrace the constructive criticism to continue reaching the next level… reaching even higher and higher, without shutting down from the pressure. It’s made me more resilient. By always searching for the next big challenge, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been invited to play with older, bigger teammates often, which helped feed my drive to work hard at adapting my play to match their advanced levels. Every time I enter a new challenge, the feeling of being outmatched makes me stronger, as I step-up and learn to be like them.

My speed often lends coaches to see me as a forward, but I have often offered to play defense, to round out my teams, with outside defender being the position I’ve played most recently. My coach, Ray Sanders, likes how I anticipate the passes that are going to the guy I’m marking, as well as my timing of 50/50 balls in the air, on the ground or anywhere. He says my commitment to winning the ball is a great strength to have. 

Coach Sanders likes how I follow his shape of funneling the opponents like an hourglass on the field. Funneling our opponents out wide on our defensive third of the field comes naturally (to keep their scorers away from our goal). Even funneling our opponents out wide on our offensive third of the field seems intuitive (to draw their defenders away from their goal and give our forwards more space to score). Coach Sanders realizes that funneling our opponents toward the center in the middle third of the field can feel foreign (it can be dangerous to give an opponent a spot in the center of the field). But we draw them to the center to give them less room and often make their play predictable, by closing off many of their options. He likes how I follow this shape and use the middle-funneling effect to commit and shut down their play. Each coach can have different strategies for each game. I work hard at being disciplined with my own personal style to be sure I’m matching the style of the coach. Where he says to go, I go. 

Being aggressive is my favorite style… putting lots of pressure on the opponents. Being right up-close to them is one of my favorite parts of the game. I’m not sure what I like more, seeing them hesitate for a moment, when I’ve closed in on them at high-speed, or seeing them in shock, caught unaware, when I sprint to close the gap before they know I’m there, like a cheetah waiting for the right moment to pounce. I like being around people. My mom thinks I have a smaller sense of personal-space than most people… I love to hug my mom and play-wrestle my friends and family. Being a defender is so natural for me, because I get to be right up in everyone’s personal space and they're in mine. The more physical the better, as long as we’re not trying to hurt each other. It’s lots of fun.

I experienced a bit of success with Track & Field a few years back. I still hold the High Jump record for the AAU West Coast Jr Olympics for 10-year-olds, and was in awe when I stood up on the blocks to receive a medal at the AAU Jr Olympics in Michigan in 2013, also for High Jump. My 4 x 400 m relay team had also qualified to compete in the Jr Olympics that year, but were unable to make the trip across the country with me. As exciting as it was to travel around the country that year, competing with some of the best Track & Field youth in the nation, I missed my teammates. It was then that I realized that soccer was the one sport that had everything for me: speed, strategy, and friends.

Academics are the backbone of my and my family’s lives. Because we place a high value on education, and I’ve worked hard to stay ahead of my studies, I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to enroll in some great classes my Freshmen year of high school. I’ve been accepted into Geometry, the GATE program, and the Biomedical Engineering pathway of Project Lead the Way. I’m hoping to major in pre-med in college and enter Medical School after my B.S.

I’ve been honored with a handful or two of science, math, and PE awards over the years, but one that surprised me was at Math Field Day this year. I was new to my school last year, and as my classmates got to know me, they saw me as a fun social guy who happens to be in the GATE classes. I don't often share my grades with people, so it’s taken some time for them to know how much I study. There’s one contest that everyone in Math Field Day participates in called the Individual Medley; the award is given to the top student at each school, in each grade. The person in the lead, according to my classmates, for “most likely to win” the Individual Medley this year, was the President of the Chess Club, of which I was a member too… but he was the President! Even I figured he had a great chance, so it was a surprise when they announced my name. 

I can’t tell what I like best… when people think of me as the fun guy, the sports guy, or the school guy. My friends and family know me as all three. I do like to have fun. I laugh so much that my 7th grade science teacher called me, “Giggles.” I’m glad that I bring joy to the people around me with my laughter, sense of humor, and friendship.

I look forward to the opportunities that high school will bring to start a whole new life in college. It’s exciting to think about the opportunities that hard work now will bring later… opportunities for studies, for soccer, and for making friends. As I write this, I see that this appears to be a theme for me: feeding my mind, body, and soul. Now I can see how soccer feeds all three with its strategy to feed the mind, its speed to feed the body and all the friends to feed the soul. 

I hope I can meet you someday and continue on this exciting journey of growing and learning, while I bring a strong mind and body to your program, and I wouldn’t be me without some fun mixed in.