For a competitive school like East, many upperclassmen would love to have a low-stress, early option to college applications. From the outside, commitment may seem like a more straightforward path to college, but the reality for East’s commits is incredibly demanding.
“I hated it. I wouldn’t wish recruitment on anybody,” said senior Abigail Stone, who committed Sept. 1 to play basketball for Tufts University. “It just felt like I was really behind in the process.”
For her, recruitment included years of participating in training camps, going to events held by colleges, and meeting as many potential coaches as possible.
“I don’t think people realize how much they have to recruit the college as well,” said Stone, explaining how she had to work to seek out a college that was the right fit.
Senior Audrey Wolk, who is committed to Columbia University for swimming, echoed Stone’s experiences, estimating that she spoke to 50 different coaches before deciding where to commit.
“You do have to talk to a lot of schools, and you’re also encouraged to talk to schools you might not even want to go to,” she said.
The numerous calls and meetings were often fit in between hours of practice, school and homework.
“I was under a lot of pressure to do well athletically, so I could continue talking to these colleges…. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself academically as well,” she said. “With recruiting there’s a lot of stuff I had to do, like staying on top of communications, so it was a really busy time in an already stressful junior year.”
“The hardest part was finding out what I actually wanted.” said Cooper Nicholson, who is committed to the University of Pennsylvania for swimming. “Because most people think about college after junior year and at the start of senior year, but for me I had to start thinking about college at the end of sophomore year, and decide what I wanted and how I wanted to balance academics”
For many East athletes, the intensity of the commitment process led them to doubt their abilities.
Stone, who has played since she was four and has been on an organized team since seventh-grade, still worried about her ability
“The hardest thing [about commitment] was definitely comparing myself because the rankings are so hyper fixated, and there’s just so much talent in other places,” Stone said.
Senior Elena Oh, who committed to Colorado University for lacrosse after playing for only a year and a half, agreed that the hardest part about recruitment was doubting if she was good enough to play for a Division I program.
“You haven’t seen the other people,” Oh said. “Stanford has the second best goalie I’ve ever seen in my life and Colorado beat Stanford twice last year.”
After committing to William and Mary for lacrosse this past September, junior Hannah Johnson agrees with most athletes that the stress is worth the reward.
“I’m excited to be challenged further, both in the classroom and on the field,” she said.
