Every year, the San Jose Earthquakes Academy sends numerous players to top universities around the country. Some will go on to play professionally, while others are being put in a position to exceed in other fields.
With the Quakes Academy hitting on all cylinders and Homegrown signings surely coming through in the near future, sjearthquakes.com chats with former members of San Jose’s youth system that are now competing at the collegiate level.
Full name: Andrew Paoli
College: UCLA
Year: Freshman
Major: Undecided
Which Years with the SJEQ Academy: 2015-17
Q: How are you enjoying college so far and what led you to choose the school you’re attending?
A: So far I'm enjoying the experience a lot. It's been fun playing with older players that are really talented and competing with them to get playing time. I really like the campus and the life in LA so far.
Q: How did playing for the Earthquakes Academy prepare you for the next level?
A: Playing for the Earthquakes Academy really helped me to learn how to manage my time well. Also, all the coaches I worked with were able to help me understand parts of my game that could improve and guide me to work towards getting better on a daily basis.
Q: Do you still keep in touch with your former coaches and teammates? Do you share experiences and advice with each other?
A: I still keep in touch with some of my teammates to just catch up with each other, joke around, and share college experiences. I've been fortunate to have met some great friends through the academy and always love catching up with them every now and then.
Q: What are your on-field goals for this season and your four years in college?
A: My main goal is to always be doing everything I can every day to be the best player I can be. This season I hope to be on the field as much as possible and eventually earn a starting spot. Throughout the next four years I would like to at some point hopefully be at a level where I'm good enough to be a professional. But for now I'm just focused on working hard to get better day by day and enjoying the whole college experience as much as possible because I'm lucky to be at such a great place like UCLA.
Q: What lessons did you learn from the Academy that you still carry with you today?
A: I've learned many on field lessons from the academy but off the field I've learned how to be a better leader and how important team chemistry and spirit is in order to be a winning team.
