Aidan

What do they love most about playing their sport(s)?

What I love most about soccer as that it is the perfect combination of individual skill mixed with the ability to work with others, read a field, and predict my teammates next moves. Soccer allows me the opportunity to hone my individual skills and show my personal abilities, but also teaches and enforces the understanding that I need a team to win and I must learn how to rely and depend on them to achieve success.

Who inspires them—on or off the field—and why?

I am most inspired by my mom. She pushes and encourages me towards being the best player I can be. As a single mom, she devotes herself to helping me achieve my goals, whether it’s rearranging her work schedule to get me to practices, spending weekends taking me from game to game, or just being my advocate and talking me through areas she thinks I need to improve on. She’s always been my number one supporter and I admire and appreciate all the sacrifices she has made to help me achieve my goals.

What’s one moment in their athletic journey that makes you proudest?

One of my proudest moments as a soccer player was being selected to represent Philadelphia at the Macabbi games this year for Boy’s soccer. Over 60 kids from the Philadelphia area tried out and I was selected as one of 12. It felt amazing to know that all of my work, both on and off the field, has been paying off. I am proud that I helped bring a silver medal home for Team Philadelphia this year and made our city proud!