By Kennedy Rosendahl
The 2023 class at Ponte Vedra high school (PVHS) has a talented group of athletes, some committed to play a sport in college. There are 31 seniors at PVHS currently committed to play somewhere. These commitments range from Division 1 to Division 3 and are for schools that are spread throughout the country. The sport with the most senior commits this year is lacrosse, with three boys and four girls possessing an athletic scholarship. There are nine different sports that have senior commits, and they all have taken a different path to obtain this scholarship and figure out their future.
One deciding factor in where to commit is academics. PVHS athletes have not only sports to worry about but also their grades, since the competition at the school is high. PVHS has a 98 percent graduation rate and student athletes have to keep up with their peers on the field and in the classroom. When choosing a college, athletes consider their academic career as well as their athletics. Senior, Cole Mitchell, who is committed to Berry College in Georgia to play baseball, said, “Academics were a large part of my decision because if the school did not have the major I wanted, it made it very hard to consider that school (to play for).” Other students were also worried about their major. Senior, Kate Mikle, committed to Florida Southern College to play softball, is majoring in business at her school. “FSC has a great business program and that’s what I wanted to pursue. I spoke with advisors and counselors to make sure they had the courses I needed and everything was perfect,” she said. Student athletes like Kate have to take extra measures to make sure their school is right for them. College athletes will have schedules based around sports, so finding classes to fit into that schedule can be difficult. But, college advisors at each school have different programs and opportunities to help these athletes study the courses they want to. At the end of the day, college athletes have to prepare themselves for life after college too, so their academic decisions are just as important as their athletic accomplishments.
Another factor that goes into deciding between schools is the surrounding area and life outside of school. Many seniors determine where they want to go based on the area of that school. Some students want to stay close to home. Senior, Mark Romano, committed to University of North Florida for soccer, lives just 40 minutes from his school. “It helped me knowing where I was really going because I really know the area and it is really nice,” he said. This way, Romano can more easily visit his family and hometown friends and current teammates. Proximity to home can work in the opposite effect however, with six seniors committed to schools up north. This could be to have a new experience, escape the hot weather, or just because they liked the area of the school. But other athletes are less worried about what is surrounding them, and more about the game the love and came to play. Senior, Trooper Price, committed to Colgate University to play football, stated, “If I’m being straight up, I’m just there to play football.” Along with other athletes, Price committed to play the sport he loves and is most focused on that.
Before committing to a school, athletes visit that school and meet the coaching staff. This can be a huge step in deciding where to go, because if an athlete feels like they don’t fit into the program, they will look at different schools. Mikle stated, “I went on campus and immediately fell in love with the campus and when talking to the coaches I realized they are the type of coaches I can respect and appreciate.” This coach-player connection is important to athletes, since the coaches will be the ones making the decisions regarding athletic concerns. Because the seniors are ready to mature from a high school level to college, they require a mutual respect from their coaches. The athletic system at PVHS tries it’s best to replicate this level of coaching, to prepare these players for their college careers. When talking about the PVHS coaches, Price said, “Most of our coaches played at the highest level and know what it takes to succeed.” By providing these athletes with role models in high school, it gives them someone to look up to and remind them that their dreams are achievable.
The recruitment process can be difficult, but there are ways to simplify it. While being recruited, patience is key. The offers may not come immediately, but with hard work and dedication, they will come with time. Price elaborated on this by saying, “My defensive coordinator in Tally [Tallahassee] told me to be patient. I was always anxious of when the offers would come, and coach Braswell always told me to be patient and keep working and they will come.” But sometimes hard work is not the only thing that can get someone a scholarship. Athletes must put themselves out there and reach out to coaches. The way an athlete advertises for themselves can be the difference in getting noticed or not, especially with social media becoming an increasingly used platform for this advertising. Romano stated, “Reach out and email every coach and school that is on your radar. This will help you network and get them to notice you rather than waiting around for someone to find you.” It is important for athletes to create names for themselves in order to project their image, so coaches have to pay attention.”
Even with the maturity of being a senior, the 2023 class partially credits the athletic department of PVHS for their successes. With the impressive coaching staff and recognizable winning records at PVHS, the student athletes have very good role models. Coaches teach athletes how to be leaders themselves. PVHS athletics helped Mikle by “developing me as a player (and) showing me how to be a leader and teammate on a team.” Because of PVHS’s winning reputation, many other schools want to play them, creating rivalries and tighter competition. This competition is good for the students are committed, preparing them for the next level. Mitchell said, “PV athletics did prepare me because the competition that we play has lots of future college athletes.” By getting this exposure to other talent, athletes can improve their game and prepare for that next level: college.
While there are many steps of committing to play sports, in the end, these student athletes have great opportunities to continue to play the sport they love. These senior commits will now serve as inspiration for the younger generations. By taking former seniors advice, the next generation of athletes will know exactly what to do to continue their sport into college.
“Academics were a large part of my decision because if the school did not have the major I wanted, it made it very hard to consider that school (to play for).”
Kate Mikle
