Nathan Waits '13 Recruiting Profile

My name is Nathan Waits and I have played soccer for almost 10 years. I love to play soccer in any environment, when I am on the field I work as hard as I can to ensure that my team wins. I prefer to play forward but will play any position. I weigh 135 pounds, im 5'7 and dominately right footed. I am a hard worker and will put in the extra time to get a objective done. I am looking at smaller schools with good business departments, but I am not closed off to the big schools. My career choice is towards business and more specifically accounting. Player Evaluation. I've seen Nathan play for two years now and I was very pleased with what he had to offer both on and off the field. At the collegiate level it is very important to be a good soccer player but equally it is important to be mature enough to be able to handle the balancing act of being a student athlete. I was really impressed with Nathan's leadership qualities off the field. He was an organizer for the whole Carmel group and acted as a go between for the coaches up here at IPFW and the Carmel boys. Nathan has great confidence in himself and seemed willing to take on responsibility. Position: Nathan is best as a forward. However, I did ask Nathan to play at full back a number of times at last years camp. He did this without any objections and did a job for us there. I believe it's always good for players to play in different positions from time to time as they get an insight into different team roles and ultimately gives them a better understanding of the game as a whole. Also it is a very valuable asset to have if a player can play in multiple roles in the college game. Areas where I believe Nathan excels in would be: Pace: Nathan has good speed, this is a most valuable Skill to have in his position. Finishing: knows where the goal is. Composed in front of goal and this was most evident when he scored a very nice equalizer against Bishop Luers during the final game in the camp. Dribbling: Nathan has good feet in tight places, this is helped by his turn of speed. Control: nice control, good first touch. Determination: never say die attitude, Nathan wants to win, he has confidence in his own ability but is willing to learn and to listen. Leadership: born leader, has the respect of others around him. Areas where I believe Nathan should work on: Tactical: know when to go to goal as opposed to holding the ball up and waiting for support. It is very important for forwards to be able to be the target player that will bring the midfielders into play especially if they are playing as a lone striker. Sometimes Nathan's determination is hurting him, this is most evident when defending from the front. Know when to close defenders down and when to pull back into the defensive team formation. Depending on the tactics used by the coach is can be either high or low pressure defending. If its low pressure defending then Nathan would hold a position nearer the center circle and simply usher the opponent to one side or another and then try to win the ball rather than sprinting all over and the defenders simply playing around him. I'm not saying become a lazy forward but more simply try and make the defenders go where you want them to go rather than chasing the ball all the time. strength and fitness: a player can always improve on this. College players are men, bigger, stronger and faster. To compete a player needs to give himself every chance. Give yourself fitness and strength goals and beat them. Leadership: Nathan needs to bring his off the field leadership skills more so onto the field. Communication and encouragement should be part of every players 90 minutes. Its amazing how much these two things can impact a game and they are very easy things to begin doing. On the last day of camp each coach had to pick 2 players from each squad to play in the all star game. I asked our lads to choose one and then I would choose the other. I did this because I wanted to see who they would pick. I asked for nominations but I only heard one name, Nate. This tells me two things. His peers respect him both as a player and a person. Watch as much soccer as you can, even play soccer video games because you will learn so much from watching others, tactics, movement, techniques, passion. Watch the center forward, where does he run, when does he hold it up, when does he close down defenders. Get as fit as you can, build up your overall physical strength. Always have a ball available, practice practice practice, out the back, on the road, and with your team. Work on both feet. Play soccer because you love it and it will show. I believe that Nathan can go and play college soccer. Where that would be is up to him. Coaches can't get out to see every game so Nathan needs to help himself in this regard. Contact coaches, get game film and made a highlight reel. Ill leave you with my favorite soccer quote that I heard former Manchester united and Ireland captain Roy Keane say "fail to prepare, prepare to fail". Best of luck Nate, Barry Morgan (Bazza) IPFW Assistant Coach Mike Harper IPFW SOCCER 260-481-6215 [email protected]