Ethan Dobbins '19 Recruiting Profile

I'm Ethan Dobbins and I'm currently a sophomore at Palmer Trinity school in Miami. This season is my first ever season being a varsity HS goalkeeper.  In my first season at Palmer, we made it all the way to the state semi final. This was the second ever time in school history that the boys varsity soccer team had accomplished this.  In 24 games my defense and I recorded 17 shutouts, and allowed 16 goals. Overall, it was a great learning experience for me to be able to play at a high level with such talented players. My teammates and I constantly pushed each other which has given me a totally new mindset and improved work ethic to this game.  I was selected to the Miami Herald's All Miami-Dade County soccer team as the 1st team goalkeeper (classes 1A-3A); one of only two 10th graders selected.

I started working regularly with a GK coach and playing club soccer in early 2016 (10 years in rec soccer prior to that), and I've noticed a vast improvement in my game. My coaches have taught me so many new ideas and details that have elevated my game tremendously. And having found success with this team, it has helped me enjoy and have fun playing each school in the sport I'm passionate about. As a freshmen at my former school, Cardinal Gibbons HS, I didn't get the chance to start for the varsity due to my coach usually making his starting choices based off of seniority (I was a JV starter). That year I did seriously doubt my skills and my future playing soccer. So coming to a new school (Palmer Trinity) I had no idea if I was even going make varsity because of my lack of varsity playing time. When I tried out, my coach reassured me after the first day that I was the man he wanted for the position. Even though I'm a new player on the team, I'm a leader on the field who does have the most vocal presence on the field. I constantly adjust my defense and tell them were to be in crucial or non-crucial situations. My size also adds to the presence I have on the field as it makes high balls and corner kicks a lot easier for me. In every game I make sure to prove my worth and show that our team has 11 players on the field, not 10.

I do owe a lot of my success this year to my coach for giving me the chance to start every game. And thus when I'm a freshmen in college, I hope my coach will give me a chance to prove myself despite my inexperience. In 2016, I began playing travel soccer for multiple clubs. I have found the most success with my current club Real Miami U17. We have won 2 out of the 3 tournaments that we've participated in this season and we are in 2nd place (out of 11 teams) in league play. Playing a year up with the U17 team has helped my soccer development tremendously. Learning from a former La Liga goalkeeper at Real Miami has also helped me with every area of my game.

Academics are also extremely important to me as well. I am very competitive when it comes to getting higher grades relative to my classmates and friends.  I also stress turning in project and assignments on time.  I have kept over a 3.9 GPA in both high schools I have attended. My parents push me to get the best grades in any class. On the PSAT, I scored in the 93rd percentile (92 percent nationally in both math, and reading / writing). I want to attend a strong academic school were I can get a degree while playing soccer.