Marc Alexander with Co-captain, Noah Giovannelli.
W
hen Marc Alexander
plays soccer for
the University of
Akron in 2017,
he won’t be the
best player on the
field like he is now.
“Everyone will be
better than me,” he says.
“Mentally, I will have to
change the way I play.”
Marc is currently a senior at Kiski School
and a center back on the soccer team.
He was surprised to receive
a full scholarship to the
University of Akron because
such opportunities are rare.
The university made the offer
after Marc participated in a
camp there in July. He played
against the current UA Zips team and
was impressed by the skill and speed of the
players: “It was a totally new level that I’ve
never seen before.”
Marc is a little nervous about making the
transition to play for the Zips because the team
has a good reputation. He’ll work on improving
his strength and agility before then. “Only players
who want to go pro go through the program,” he
explains. “I’ll have to play smarter, faster
and quicker.”
He was also impressed by the close
relationships between
players on the Zips team.
“It felt like a family and
that’s somewhere I want to
be,” he says.
For aspiring young players, Marc advises them
to make sure they maintain their grades while
also working hard at practice. “You have to
go all out,” he says. “Every piece matters.
Coaches are watching you at all times.”
Players also have to avoid giving up
mentally, even when the situation
may seem hopeless. Marc recalls one
example when he played on the
Century United soccer team three
years ago, in a game where
the team was down by
two goals. They came back
to tie it, and went on to win
the tournament. “We had to keep
going and I had to keep the entire
team together,” Marc says.
He credits Jeremy Gillespie, a former coach
from Century United, with helping him reach
his full potential as a player: “He helped me get
to where I am now.”
Marc will study engineering at Akron and
would like to become a professional soccer
player. His favorite team is Manchester City and
his favorite player is Sergio Aguero.
Marc started playing soccer at age six but
also played other sports, including basketball,
football and baseball. He decided to focus on
soccer and was a forward prior
to becoming a defender.
He enjoyed playing as a
striker because it gave him
the opportunity to score.
“Everyone wants to be the guy
scoring goals with all the glory,”
he says.
However, being a center back is
also a good fit because Marc is so
athletic. “Now, I can lock down
whomever I want on the field at
any time,” he says.
In 2013, Marc joined the
Olympic Development Program
and played in Zagreb, Croatia, and
Venice, Italy. The team came in
fifth place.
People often complain that soccer
is boring but, according to Marc,
playing the game or watching it in
person is very different from
seeing it on television. “When
you watch it on TV it looks like
there’s a lot of space and it’s
slow,” he says. “But in person
you can see the speed of the
game and how difficult
it is to play. Everything is
very quick.” ■
Penn Hills | Winter 2016 | icmags.com 11