I’ve known Lucian for several years in my capacity is his soccer coach. The way I’ve watched him mature in that time and grow into the young man has truly been a wonderful experience. To be part of that growth has been deeply rewarding. The way he communicates with his peers, the way he interacts with his opponents, and the respect he has for everything he does is of top quality. He’s a pleasure to be around and has developed into an incredibly patient young man. I’ve always thought I could see him in a teaching or instructing capacity and I’m proud of him for pursuing this dream.

He is not one to broker or negotiate the peace. He is one to approach a situation and get to the core issue of maintaining decorum and respect. He knows when to separate and cool down then reengage in pursuit of resolution.

I often ask players what they’d like to work on during the course of our time together. This isn’t limited to specific skills on the field, but rather in life. Without fail, he has always approached things with a “I just wanna have a good experience,” “I want to have fun,” and “I want to learn something new” approach. It’s very open-minded and very growth oriented. I believe this serves him well and being able to pick up any new skill, absorb it, and then be able to showcase or teach that skill. In my estimation, those of the hallmarks of personal growth and communal engagement.

Much like in the previous section he has a willingness to both be introspective and socially aware. His focus isn’t just on improving himself, but also improving his position among others as and uplifting people around him.

One area of strength is that he is a strong listener. One area of weakness is that while he is always listening he might not always look like he’s listening. But it’s something we’ve worked on over the years and I’ve seen massive improvement in the way he interacts with people, myself included. A big part of his reliability is rooted in his ability to absorb information, process it, engage with the person from whom he is receiving that information, and move together in a positive forward direction.

Lucian is one of those people that just makes a setting better. He’s warm, he’s smart, he’s social, and he’s funny. He’s got a strong moral compass and knows how to both be individually excellent and contributory to a team environment. You’d be lucky to have him.