Aiden Jensen just turned 16, but he’s got big plans. An outstanding soccer player, he’s being recruited to play in Europe for professional development teams. It’s an exciting prospect, but there’s one thing he needs to achieve first: his American high school diploma.
“I got these really good opportunities to play in Europe,” says Aiden. “They asked me how school was going. I said, ‘I have a lot of school left.’ ”
His academic and athletic ambitions brought the young man to St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, where he is taking advantage of the program’s flexible schedule and individualized structure to move quickly through classes in hopes of graduating sometime in 2021.
“I do one class every two weeks, then move on to the next class,” he says.
Aiden has always been a strong student, and his effort since enrolling at SLAA has impressed the educators here. “Aiden is gifted and very dedicated to his schoolwork,” says Coralynn Long, his graduation candidate advocate. “He is meticulous in his work and submits very in-depth, well-written and well-researched college-level work.”
The son of a German mother and American father, Aiden was born in Germany and has dual citizenship. His mom, Daniela, was won of the first women to join the German Air Force. His dad, Jeff, was a U.S. Army artillery mechanic stationed in Germany, where they met and fell in love.
Aiden began begun playing soccer with a German YMCA program at age 3, then began team play at age 8 after moving to Florida with his parents. Before enrolling at SLAA in December, he was a strong student and a freshman playing soccer on the varsity team at Treasure Coast High.
Along the way, Aiden’s talen caught the eye of an American coach, Eddie Loewen, and then, in time, the attention of recruiters for German’s professional development leagues. Soccer is known as “football” in Europe and it’s as big of a deal — if not bigger — than American football is here.
“In Europe, it’s so big,” Aiden enthuses. “You live it, you breathe it. Words can’t describe the passion you feel.”
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, his coach had invited him and some other promising players to try out for his Global Soccer Development “dream team” showing its stuff overseas. Aiden made a good impression on European coaches and the opportunities to try for a spot on a professional development team began to present themselves.
His dream is to eventually play for the elite Arsenal Football Club. “They were the first team I watched,” he says. He is impressed by “the elegance and history and the way they play — the way they move the ball.”
While it interrupted soccer and school here and in Germany, the pandemic may actually have worked to Aiden’s advantage. While German players were unable to train due to lockdowns, the SLAA graduation candidate has been able to stay in shape, play a lot and continue to hone his skills.
“It’s a good opportunity because he’s been in training all year while Germany has not,” says his mom, Daniela.
Acceleration Academies works in partnership with St. Lucie Public Schools, and the district recommended SLAA as a place where Aiden could — with hard work — graduate much earlier than he would have been able in regular schools.
Like other top-level athletes, Aiden has plenty of self-discipline. And while he doesn’t often need extra academic attention, he says that GCA Long makes sure that he doesn’t lose momentum.
“I try to be as self-motivated as I can, but sometimes you get to a place where you need a push,” says Aiden. His mentor is there to provide it — “always.”