As the school year comes to an end, seniors are getting ready to go off to college.
Among the seniors who are heading off to college, some of them made the decision to not just further their academic career, but also further their athletic career at the collegiate level.
Playing a sport at any level of college is a tremendous achievement for an athlete.
It shows that the hard work and dedication that an athlete has put in throughout their career is paying off.
The college commitment process is very hard for seniors, and even harder for student athletes. It is important that the achievement of committing to play a sport should be recognized.
“I decided to commit to Connecticut College because I loved the school and the area it was in. It also had strong academics and very strong sports programs which is what I was looking for,” senior soccer player Camille Cortes said.
Cortes is committed to play women’s soccer at Connecticut college. Connecticut College is located in New London,Connecticut.
They are a division three school and are a part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
As Atoms senior athletes get ready for their next level athletic career, they have a lot to look forward to.
“I’m looking forward to playing at the next level and having a team and a coach that’ll push me to continue to grow as a player,” Cortes said.
Something that is very stressful for student athletes is the recruiting process.
During the recruitment process, athletes hear from colleges and also reach out to colleges in hopes that they can possibly commit to play at their school.
This process is hard on student athletes because they have a lot of options to choose from, so it’s hard to know what the right choice is.
“During the recruitment process, there are lots of ups and downs. Some days it seems like your future is set, then others you doubt whether it’s the right choice,” senior boys soccer player Fernando Sandoval said.
Sandoval is committed to play soccer at Radford University.
Radford is located in Radford, Virginia, and they are a NCAA division I school and are part of the Big South Conference.
“I committed because of the culture and the environment of the team,” Sandoval said.
Another thing that made the recruitment process hard for student athletes was COVID-19.
COVID-19 made it harder for athletes to actually visit school and talk to coaches in person.
“The recruiting process was really difficult because of COVID and different in many ways. Most of my recruiting took place through highlight film until the middle of junior year When I was able to go on visits and meet coaches in person,” Cortes said.
As the school year comes to an end, Atoms athletes get to reflect on their memories throughout their high school career.
“I will definitely miss playing with my friends and the people I grew up with,” senior baseball player Finn Scott-Daniels said.
Scott-Daniels is committed to play baseball at Hood College.
Hood College is a NCAA division III school located in Maryland, and is a part of the Middle Atlantic Conference.
“I committed because it was a very nice school and I really liked the coach and team, ‘’Scott-Daniels said.”
Many of the athletes at Annandale have made many memories during their time with the school, especially with their teammates.
“I will miss my high school teammates the most. I have been playing with many of them for three to four years so I’m going to miss playing with them,” Cortes said.
These seniors all have bright careers ahead of them at the next level, and we all wish them the best of luck on their athletic and academic journey.