According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), from 2022 to 2023, approximately 530,000 of the 8 million high school athletes would go on to play a varsity sport in college. To many of these athletes, it is a dream come true. All the years of hard work, contacting colleges and attending showcase events have paid off. Yet behind the glamour of committing to play college sports, there are many stresses and pressures.
Senior Danika Senekal went through this draining recruitment journey when committing to swim at Nova Southeastern University.
“The fact that this could possibly not happen, and I wasted 10 years of my life swimming just for me to not end up swimming in college was hard for me,” Senekal said. “That motivated me to prove people wrong and go swim in college.”
Senekal is one of the thousands of athletes right now who are going through this demanding process of committing to play collegiate athletics. However, maintaining a positive attitude and trusting in the hard work can help alleviate the stress.
“You can’t take it personally or to heart if the coach says we just don’t have a spot for you on (the) team because it’s not personal,” Senekal said. “It’s just based on the facts.”
Senekal believes different divisions have different levels of pressure. Committing to a Division III college may be less stressful, as there aren’t any new regulations on roster sizes. However, when committing to a high-level DII college, such as Nova Southeastern University, it tends to be more stressful because limits to DI rosters make some swimmers go to high-level DII colleges, and thus, there is more competition for recruits.
However, there is a different set of challenges when committing to play DI. Senior Wilder Judelson, a Colorado College soccer commit, feels the pressure to perform at a DI level.
“I’m already getting those nerves going into college and playing at the higher level,” Judelson said.
Judelson has dealt with many setbacks during his college recruiting process as many colleges lost interest or didn’t offer him a spot on their roster.
“I reached out to some colleges, but they didn’t respond,” Judelson said. “Multiple times I’ve talked to colleges like MIT or Lafayette or some good DI colleges, but they just end up moving on.”
During the recruiting process, Judelson tried to maintain a focus on academics, but admits that the stress of the process took over.
“I always put my schoolwork first, so it was probably 75% school, 25% college process,” Judelson said. “But by the end, it became 50-50. I had to think about my decision even while sitting in class.”
Despite all the stress of college commitments, there are bright spots from this journey, including visiting college campuses and experiencing college life.
“Going on official visits to all types of colleges was really fun,” Senekal said via email. “You get a glimpse of real life in college and get to meet so many people and make connections all around the country.”
Varsity soccer coach Ray Sandidge, who has helped numerous athletes complete the college recruiting process, believes that the recruiting process puts teenagers on the spot, which creates the very pressure that Judelson and Senekal feels.
“Sometimes (the athletes) are indecisive because they may want something better than what’s being offered,” Sandidge said. “This year, one of our players on my club team ended up having to settle because they had (universities) that made him offers but he wouldn’t make a decision, (so) they moved on to somebody else.”
Even after completing the recruiting process, athletes face another challenge during the transition from high school athletics to the more physically demanding college level. Many recruited athletes, who were considered stars in high school, will lack playing time in college. The lack of playing time can impact an athlete’s confidence.
“The mental challenge becomes the lack of playing time,” Sandidge said. “You’re used to being a star, then you go somewhere else and you’re not playing as much. That’s what takes a toll.”
Nevertheless, the main priority throughout this college recruiting process is to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“You should go into (the college recruiting process) more excited than stressed,” Judelson said. “Be excited to go to college for soccer or be excited to meet these coaches and see these campuses. It’s a gift.”
