Brookfield High School forward Justin Calip tries to elude defenders during a soccer match in 2023.
Justin Calip spent 12 years as a competitive gymnast but, one day, when he decided he needed something else to do, he picked up a soccer ball.
Soccer is now his ticket to college.
Justin, a Brookfield High School senior, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Lake Erie College Storm men’s soccer team.
Justin said a personal tour of the Painesville campus with head coach Louis Rolko and assistant coach Ryan Dean convinced him to enroll there.
“It just looked like a better place I could develop,” Justin said.
Justin was a forward and a top goal scorer during his time at Brookfield, playing for coach Jen Russo, but might get a look as a midfielder in college.
“I really do need to get my conditioning up, so I can try out midfielder at the collegiate level,” he said. “Forward is not near as much endurance as you need for midfield.”
As a junior and a senior, Justin was named to the All County Team and the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference 2nd Team. He also has played club soccer and is now playing for two indoor teams.
“I just have a blast playing it,” he said of soccer. “The conditioning, it can be rigorous sometimes, but it doesn’t matter if you enjoy playing it. I enjoy winning. I enjoy playing with my team. I enjoy giving my teammates opportunities to do the sport they also enjoy.”
Part of that conditioning will include getting bigger and stronger, Justin said.
“I’m thankful for Coach Louis, Coach Ryan for giving me this opportunity to show what I can do at the next level,” he said.
While “Everything I do right now is pretty much soccer-related,” he plans to study entrepreneurship in college with the goal of someday starting his own business in a field to be determined.
“I don’t like working for other people,” Justin said. “I want to work for myself and have my own steady, passive income so I can travel the world and do what I want to do.”
