On Wed. May 23, Carlmont seniors publicly committed to playing on a college sports team during a signing ceremony.
Parents, friends, and fellow teammates gathered in the Stogner Gym during lunchtime to give their loved ones support.
Of those seniors, Josef Gonzalez, Henry Reich, Jackson Velschow, and Jason Lloyd will be playing football. Summer Dow will be rowing. Andrew Luna will be running cross country. Isabella Ravaglia will be playing soccer. Tanner Anderson and Ryan Wilson will be running track and field. Thomas Resnick will be playing tennis. Maya McClellan and Sophie Srivastava will be playing volleyball. Mailey McLemore will be playing softball.
According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, across all men’s and women’s sports, approximately 7.1 percent of high school athletes go on to play in college.
Some overlook playing a college sport because of the time commitment. But for the athletes coming from Carlmont, that commitment is worth it.
“I love football more than anything in the world, so an opportunity to keep playing and being able to play on a larger stage than in high school is a dream come true,” Velschow said.
Dow, a rower, began her recruitment process right after sophomore year. She built personal relationships with the coach at Trinity College through phone calls.
Dow said, “Eventually the school offered to have me fly to Connecticut on an official visit where I stayed, met the team, and lived on campus to see if the school and I were a good fit. Once my academic pre-read came back strong my junior year, the coach and I verbally committed that if I apply Early Decision, she would support me in the acceptance process. I got my acceptance letter in February.”
Playing a college sport can also lead to higher levels of competition, which is a significant reason why students try to get recruited.
“I want to be pushed to be the best athlete I can be,” Dow said.
For students who are hoping to get recruited by colleges in the future, Luna has found that contacting coaches directly leads to the most recruitment success.
“Try to do your best in your junior year seasons and contact the coaches directly rather than going through a service. If you want to go to a specific school, go to its website, find the athletic section and email the coach,” Luna said.
No matter one’s success in high school sports, joining a team more than often will spark new friendships.
“A lot of my closest friends are from cross-country and a lot of my relationships have been built through cross country and track teams. Doing those sports defined a lot of my high school experience,” Luna said.
