Of the 8 million students who play sports in high school, a mere 7% will eventually get to play sports at the collegiate level, according to the NCAA. The path there is a rigorous one, requiring students to practice year-round to impress college coaches at showcases and camps.
U-High’s annual signing day, where five recruited athletes formally accepted their offers, took place on April 24 during lunch and featured speeches from coaches and the athletics administrators commemorating the players’ achievements.
The event also gave athletes a chance to connect with their friends and family after this process and truly feel the magnitude of their achievement.
Leon Dhal’s admission for fencing to the U.S. Air Force Academy required an extensive process of essays, interviews and a nomination from a senator or congressman. Because of this rigorous process, Leon said it really feels exhilarating to be able to further his fencing career at a Division I school with an Olympic fencing coach, and it was nice to share that sentiment during signing day.
“This is what my passion, what my dream has been for years,” Leon said. “I feel like this is kind of the start of my career both in an athletic sense of pursuing Olympic fencing and in terms of my future goals and serving my country.”
Dallan Krewatch, who was admitted to Macalester College for baseball, said the number of people attending and the general scale of signing day really surprised him.
“I thought it was just going to be taking a couple of pictures. I didn’t realize that Coach Zavala was going to give a whole speech and that it’d be so packed out and there’d be food for people and all that,” Dallan said. “I appreciated the kind of time that the athletics department put into it.”
Baseball coach Luke Zavala said that since the baseball team is often off campus, players don’t often have a chance to show their hard work to their community during competition, and that the same applies to all sports when it comes to the recruiting process.
“It’s meaningful for the students to get to share in the moment with their family that has supported them so much along the way. Coaches that have been there to help and guide them and just their friends,” Mr. Zavala said. “Just really getting to really recognize and celebrate the hard work that they’ve put in while far from their peers.”
Six students were signed to play collegiate athletics:
Leon Dhal, fencing, U.S. Air Force Academy
Eve Dyson, track and field, Smith College
Dallan Krewatch, baseball, Macalester College
Henry Lyon, swimming, Macalester College
Sam Oyler, swimming, Macalester College
Ty Quiles, track and field, Oberlin College
