Earlier in the month, we ran a Twitter competition for FirstPoint clients, past and present. Thank you to all those who entered! It was genuinely a hard decision to make, but Yusef Seodi's tweet was chosen anonymously by staff here at FirstPoint HQ. Congratulations Yusef!
Although 18 year old Yusef is still in stage 1 of the process, he has already made a great impression here with the FirstPoint USA staff:
"Yusef came to an assessment early in the year and made a very good impression of himself which encouraged us to offer him a place on our program. Since joining the FirstPointUSA program, he has been very pro-active in regards to attending client games. As well as playing well in the client games, Stage 1 of the process is shaping up nicely for Yusef and I am really interested and looking forward to seeing the offers Yusef will receive from American Universities. Keep up the good work Yusef!"
- John Crawley (Consultant, FirstPoint USA)
We caught up with Yusef to find a bit more about his background and ambitions:
Can you tell us about your sporting background?
My sporting background dates back to 1997 when I was 2 years old, I carried a size 5 football round with me everywhere. My father was an Olympic wrestler representing Egypt, and wrestling has been in that side of my family for generations, so fortunately I am naturally very athletic. I was county champion for 400m and 1500m in years 8 and 9. I have played football all my life, captaining my county side Hertfordshire, and local clubs. I have never been at a professional club.
What do you hope to achieve in the USA?
In the USA I hope to achieve many things, I want to grow and mature as a player, and constantly develop technically. I also want to win as many trophies and titles as possible with my university or college and I would love to be named an all American.
Academically I want to major/graduate with the highest degree possible for me, I think I would like to study African American history.
What made you apply to FirstPoint USA?
I applied to first point USA because my friend Seb Smith who is actually flying out today to the states with his scholarship was already a client of first point USA, and when he told me about it I just thought there is nothing better than this.
What are your ambitions?
My ambitions, I have many, the ultimate goal/ambition for me is to set up my own football camp/academy in various deprived African countries, I have a passion for helping people in LEDC's, and have been out to east Africa to do charity work before and I think bringing football and this together would be a great idea but for the mean time I want to earn the highest possible scholarship to an American uni/college with the great help from first point USA.
What is your proudest sporting achievement so far?
inning the 400m at a local high school athletics meet in year 10 was a very proud moment for me, I remember coming down the home straight and seeing my mum going mad. I have too many proud footballing moments to choose just one, but maybe being named captain for my county side is number 1.
How have you found the FirstPoint process so far?
The FirstPoint process has been excellent so far! Since the day I applied online right up until today they have been very good at communicating with me, helping me out with things. I remember looking at the website months ago and looking at other peoples blogs and even those of people who are currently in America, and I thought wow how do they get to that stage, and now I feel like I'm on my way to being one of those people! First point are great, the staff are all cool and relaxed and always up for a laugh.
What advice would you give anyone for their FirstPoint interview?
The first bit of advice I would give to anyone going into their FirstPoint interview is be yourself! Be comfortable with who you are and what you are capable of. Dress smartly, don't try too hard just relax and ask lots of questions, don't come out of the interview room with anything on your mind you're not too sure about.
What advice do you have for people playing in their first client game through FirstPoint?
The most important thing you can do in your first and rest of your client games is just be yourself again! Play your game! Don't try and do things you wouldn't usually do. Just play the simple ball, if you can see the killer pass and think you can split open their defense then go for it! But at the same time, the simple 5 yard pass can be just as impressive.
We'd like to thank Yusef for taking the time to talk to us, and we wish him every success in securing your scholarship with us!
Stay tuned for more competitions in the coming months!
Think you've got what it takes to secure a soccer scholarship to the U.S?
