Marco Saglimbeni '13 Recruiting Profile

My name is Marco Saglimbeni. I am a Junior at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. In the classroom, I maintain a 3.972 (4.414 weighted) GPA. My sport and passion is soccer. I play for both P.A.C. Tigres (club team) and Bellarmine College Prep. For my club team, I am #15 and Team Captain. I primarily play right defender, but I can play on either side and even push up to outside midfielder at times. I am very versitile and hardworking. At practice I set the pace and always push myself to work harder than everybody else. On the field, I use my speed and positioning to effectively defend and cover opponents. With the ball, I use my vision, ball control, and quickness to evade defenders, and I prefer to pass the ball on the ground. Something about me that may not be seen by my play is that I am very durable. I have not missed a game or been seriously injured since freshman year. For my highschool team, I have a different role, which contributes to my great versitility. As a sophomore on varsity, I did not start regularly but worked hard to become the first sub off the bench and even started a few games. My main position was outside mid, but I also played attacking mid and winger. I ended up scoring 7 goals and 1 assist as a sophomore. This year as a Junior, I was named one of four team captains, me being the only junior. I played mainly central mid and attacking mid, along with winger and outside mid. All of these positions contribute to my great versitility as a player and make me comfortable almost anywhere on the field. I started every game and was named to All-WCAL 2nd Team.
In terms of college, it is my goal and dream to have an opportunity to play college soccer. Soccer is such a big part of my life, and I don't know what my life would be like if I did not play it competitively. This is why I do not want my competitive career to end in highschool, but carry on into college. In a perfect situation, I would love to attend college on the west coast. However, if a chance to play soccer arises somewhere else, I would no doubt be willing to sacrifice location for soccer. In terms of the school, I would love to attend a Catholic school (or Jesuit) because that is how I have been raised, but, once again, soccer takes priority over my preferences. I have no preference if the school is big or small because I like meeting new people and having many friends. I strongly want to attend a college with a high level of academics. I have always pushed myself in academics and would like to continue that into college. Even though it is my dream to play professional soccer, I realize that very few people get that great opportunity, and I want a strong educational base for my future. For my major, I still haven't decided, but I have a few ideas. I love all sports and I want to try and stay connected to them. My dad is a doctor so I would possibly like to become a sports doctor or athletic trainer. This is why I am interested in studying medicine. Also, I have always been interested in animals my whole life. I am considering studying and/or working with animals, which is why I am interested in maybe studying zoology.
Thank you for taking the time to read this personal statement, and I hope I have given you a little insight into myself both as a player and a person. All I'm asking for is an opportunity.