Anthony Hobbs

Classroom

For the past three years, Hobbs has been one of the top student-athletes at FIU. Entering his senior season, Hobbs has maintained a 3.77 GPA while making the Dean’s List every semester.  He is a three-time member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was recently honored as a part of the C-USA All-Academic Team.  These academic achievements are extremely impressive given his busy schedule flying from Miami to New Zealand while competing on his country’s U20 national team.

Character

Hobbs is not only an exceptional student-athlete, he is an incredible person. He puts people’s needs before his own. He is a leader in the classroom, on the field, and in the community. He leads by example. His work ethic and dedication to his team and education is unmatched. But most importantly, his enthusiasm to give back is commendable. He encourages his teammates to be actively engaged in the community by holding free clinics for kids with Down syndrome, assisting with fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society and promoting active lifestyles by volunteering at local race events. While at FIU, Hobbs has never turned down an opportunity to give back to the communities that has given him so much.

Community

Hobbs has always found time between competing at FIU and for his home country of New Zealand to lend a hand in the Miami community. He is an active supporter of the Down Syndrome Association Soccer Clinic, which he and his teammates started to work with kids and provide free soccer clinics to children with Down syndrome. He also lends his time and teaches kids his soccer talents at the Doral Soccer Clinic. Hobbs volunteers at the Big Brother, Big Sister Holiday Celebration where he helped fundraise money to collect school supplies and holiday gifts for children on a waiting list to be matched with a mentor. At the ING Miami Marathon, Hobbs and his teammates volunteer in the early hours of the morning at the gear check-in tent and are responsible for holding and returning the personal belongings of race participants. This shows the level of trust and responsibility the university and the community has in Hobbs and his teammates. Hobbs has also volunteered his time at the Miami Beach Half Marathon where he lined the raceway to hand out water and energy bars to the participating racers. Hobbs is also a participant in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life where he and his teammates annually gather to raise money for cancer research.

Competition

Hobbs has been a leader ever since he stepped foot on the FIU campus. As a defender, Hobbs has been the FIU Defensive and Team MVP each of his three seasons at FIU. He is also a fixture on the All-Conference USA team, earning third-team honors his freshman year while being named to the all-freshman team, second-team honors his sophomore year and first-team honors his junior year. Hobbs has also been durable during his tenure at FIU, logging the most minutes of any Panther in the past three years. He was also named to multiple all-tournament teams including the Akron University All-Tournament Team as a freshman and to the Stetson Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team his sophomore year. Recently, Hobbs participated in the U-20 World Cup as part of the New Zealand squad and was recently in camp with the U-23 national team and was on the short list to make the squad for the 2012 London Games. While training with his country, Hobbs was a member of the United Soccer League’s Portland Timbers U-23s team in the Professional Development League. Throughout the year, Hobbs was ranked in the top 10 in minutes played and helped lead his team to the Western Conference semifinals.  Anthony was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second-consecutive year.