Thomas Sumner '21 Recruiting Profile

My name is Thomas Sumner.  I started playing soccer when I was 4 years old, and began playing goalkeeper on my travel soccer team, Wayne County United Soccer Club (WCUSC), at age 9.  Ever since I stepped into the box, I have had a passion for playing this position.  Every day I look forward to working on my skills, saving shots, and working the ball up the field to my teammates effectively.  Last year in eighth grade, I played goalkeeper for the JV and Varsity teams at Wayne Country Day School (WCDS) in Goldsboro, NC and also the ’02 and ’03 WCUSC Classic travel teams.  I was a captain of my JV Soccer team and my ’03 WCUSC travel team.  In eighth grade, I was the starting goalkeeper for the WCDS Varsity team during all our NCISAA State Championship playoff games.  We advanced to the State Finals, which was an amazing experience!  This year as the starting goalkeeper for the WCDS Varsity team, our team won the regular season Conference Championship and made it to the Semifinals of the NCISAA State Championships.  I will be the goalkeeper on the '02 WCUSC travel team for the Spring 2018 season. 

Having determination has been critical to my success in soccer.  An experience that demonstrates my determination occurred during the State playoffs last year.  As an eighth grader, I had earned the position of starting keeper for my varsity soccer team leading up to the tournament.  In the first game of the playoffs, everyone was talking about a striker on the opposing team who had scored 60 goals during his school season.  I knew I was ready. During that game, he took a shot, and I dove to the ground to save the ball.  After stopping it, I immediately knew something was wrong. My left pinkie finger was broken and it hurt to put pressure on it.  At halftime, my goalkeeper coach asked me if I thought I could tough it out and finish the game.  We taped my fingers together over my glove, and I finished the game and the rest of the tournament.  I was in the goal leading the Varsity team all the way to the State Finals and making 17 saves in three games. 

I really enjoy being a competitor on the soccer pitch, but I have also taken advantage of teaching younger keepers at a local camp (Scott Summer Soccer Academy).  I play and train every chance I get.  I have taken advantage of opportunities such as training with a college coach at a local university (Mt. Olive University), training with college soccer players, training through ODP (NC Olympic Development program), attending overnight and one day keeper camps at the University of North Carolina, and being selected to attend the Wolves National Camp at Darlington School in Georgia this past summer.  I currently have a 3.5 GPA and am focused on excelling in school and on the soccer field over the next four years and look forward to playing soccer in college in the future.