Corrado assists teammates, community

Senior IU midfielder A.J. Corrado led the Big Ten with 12 assists last season. Off the field, Corrado shifts his focus to assisting others. He has volunteered for Timmy Global Health, People and Animal Learning Services, Read Across America and Goodwill during his time at IU.

To kick off his final season, Corrado has been added to the MLS players to watchlist and has also been nominated for the Senior CLASS award. Corrado said the recognition he has received is an honor.

“It means that people have taken notice of your hard work and your potential,” Corrado said. “It’s always an honor. At the same time, most of the individual awards are a reflection of the team. I don’t take it too personally. It’s a positive thing, but we still have a lot of playing left to do.”

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said Corrado has been working hard over the summer to be more aggressive and take some shots for himself, while still maintaining his great set-up ability. Both said they have high expectations for this season.

Yeagley said Corrado has taken major strides and has really improved as a player in the offseason.

“He’s now getting in more dangerous spots for himself to finish with just some changes to the runs that he makes the final third,” Yeagley said. “His physicality and his accountability on the defensive side really seems to elevate him to a more complete player.”

In his time away from Bloomington this summer, Corrado received some unusual opportunities to help him train for his final year of college soccer.

Corrado spent part of his summer working on his game with MLS professionals in Columbus, Ohio and Kansas City, Miss.

“This summer was a great time for me to really focus on my game,” Corrado said. “We had the spring season to work as a team, and then we have the summer and we are all away. I did a lot of stuff on my own. I had the ability to train with the Columbus
Crew and Sporting Kansas City. It’s a great thing to have that opportunity going into
another college season.”

Since returning to Bloomington, Yeagley said Corrado has emerged as a major leader on the team, leading by example because he is an extremely skilled technical player and has a positive energy that everyone feeds off of on the field.

“You want one of your upperclassmen to help the young guys, too, and A.J. has a great personality,” Yeagley said. “He’s a magnet with the players. You know, we’re on the road and he’s opening his book and he knows when to get things done and he has good balance. He manages his time well, so he’s a great example for our young guys.”

Corrado isn’t just balancing school and soccer. He also has made a conscious effort to give back to the Bloomington community.

He has participated in Read Across America in all his seasons at IU. In spring 2013, Corrado raised funds for PALS, an organization that provides therapy for those with disabilities through interaction with horses. He also has volunteered at the Bloomington Goodwill.

However, Timmy Global Health is Corrado’s main focus. The organization sends medical personnel, finances and resources all over the world to provide assistance to countries in need.

“It helps provide medical care for those who don’t really even have the basic necessities,” Corrado said.  “What we do for that at IU is raise money for that through a bunch of different runs and different kinds of events — different fund-raising things for that organization.”

Corrado is pre-dentistry, and he takes his work ethic from the soccer field and applies it to his classwork. He currently has a 3.604 grade point average. He is an IU
Founder’s Scholar and has earned Alpha Beta honors for the past three years.

Corrado said balancing school, soccer and volunteer work can be tricky but extremely rewarding.

“It’s tough, but It’s all fun to me,” Corrado said. “I don’t have a problem with it at all because it’s what I want to do. I enjoy all three of them big time, and wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”