Wilmington, NC - Alex Degrassi of Charlotte, North Carolina has officially committed to Virginia Wesleyan University for the upcoming fall season to continue his playing career after two years with the Sea Devils Men's Soccer Program.
When we asked the Cape Fear Men's Soccer coaching staff about Alex they had plenty of great things to say.
"How do we describe Alex Degrassi? Alex is a committed player who was one of the first players picked up by our staff when we came together in May of 2016 in an open tryout and he has amounted to far more than we could have ever expected. He came into his freshman year fighting an injury and thus sharing time at the left back position until his injury forced him out of game and eventually ended his freshman season.
Entering the spring of his freshman year we could see changes. He was growing technically, tactically, and starting to take hold of a leadership role on the field and in the gym. While he had always been a vocal leader, by the spring of 2017 his teammates were looking to him as a captain figure.
Voted one of our captains for the 2017-2018 school year Alex immediately took the reigns of the position. We saw him grow into the leader we know he had the potential to be. He pushed himself and his teammates. He'd accept his errors and weaknesses and had no problem patting a teammate on the back or if needed, calling them out to try harder. It's no question he held his teammates to a high standard and had a never give up attitude. We can safely say it didn't matter whether we were running away with the game or with our backs against the wall he expected nothing less than maximum effort. Those are traits that will carry him far beyond the beautiful game. Honestly, we could all see Alex coaching one day. He has that drive to push people and challenge them to give their best, but for now we are excited to see him going to play for Virginia Wesleyan University."
We asked Virginia Weslyan Assistant Coach Dustin Shumbach for a brief quote. Coach Shumbach said "We are very excited about Alex coming to VWU. He provides a versatile body to our OB position. He has the athleticism to get up and down the flank and attack out of the back. With his experience at the college level, we are expecting good things!"
Coach Ponton specifically said "You can't ask much more of your athletes than someone who will push themselves, push their teammates, help grow the program, mold younger players, and have a never give up attitude through the worst kind of adversity. Alex is just one of those players I can't speak highly enough of. He has been a great Ambassador for our program."
