Athletes of the future

BY MARKUS MUKHERJEE, DONOVAN KERVICK Staff Reporter

With the school year ending, seniors are deciding what their next steps are going to be.

Many students are off to college and want to continue their athletics there. Getting the chance to be a college athlete can be very difficult and requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Robert Poules, the Varsity American Football coach at Sequoia, helps future athletes get recruited.

“I always recommend that they run through a short checklist. Do you want to be a big fish [successful athlete] in a small pond [school with small sports programs]? Or a small fish [athlete] in a big pond [school with large sports programs? They’re gonna have a very different experience,” Poules said.

Poules also reccomends that athletes strengthen their skills in mutliple sports.

“The best athletes are usually multi-sport athletes. I know for example, [in] baseball they [recruiters] get super frustrated because the kids specialize and when they see them, they know that there’s nothing they can do to make that kid better realistically,” said Poules.

This year, quite a few Sequoia students have committed to colleges for athletics, like senior Aniyah Hall who is going to play volleyball in college. Hall advises students playing sports to take advantage of the opportunities they get and try to use all available resources.

“Luckily for me, most of my coaches have coached at D1 schools and have lots of connections to other college coaches,” Hall said. “Start sending emails as soon as possible. The earlier you start sending emails and films, the more exposure you’re giving yourself.”

Hall advises people in the recruitment process don’t limit their options just because the program isn’t the level they’d hoped.

“Trust me, there are D2 that are programs better than some D1s. Be open to considering all three divisions [programs]. If playing time is a really big thing for you, maybe consider a smaller D1 because playing time is never guaranteed,” Hall said. “Don’t let anyone try to discourage you because, at the end of the day, it’s your future.” “If college coaches are showing interest, make sure you do research on them. Also, look into the program they recently coached at, and even try to reach out to some of the players on the team to ask about their coaching style,” Hall said.

Being an athlete and trying to achieve success always comes with some challenges, whether it’s injuries, not getting the opportunity you hoped for or losing motivation.

“You have to make sure you’re actually enjoying your sport and having fun. I burnt myself out very quickly because I was constantly training every single day, along with playing another sport,” Hall said. “It caused me to become mentally and physically exhausted. The biggest thing is just understanding when you need to give yourself a break.”

Senior Evangeline Chu is going to Yale University for Gymnastics. She emphasizes that club sports have a different application process than school sports.

“The application process is different for non-school sports just because, at least for gymnastics,” Chu said. “It tends to happen much earlier, so you can apply and hear back from the university sometimes earlier than school sports.”

Throughout highschool, Chu had to balance school and athletics. She notes how important management is for becoming a better student and athlete.

“Some obstacles that made the path more difficult were just the amount of time we had to spend practicing [around 5 hours every day of the week] and not managing my time well to get all my work done,” Chu said. For most seniors, choosing a college is a very difficult process. While some students focus on academics in college, Students who also want to continue their athletic career have to factor that into their decision process. Chu sheds some light on how she chose her college and her advice for others in the same boat.

“I chose Yale because it is not only one of the most prestigious universities in the country, but it also had everything I was looking for in a school,” Chu said. “From the encouraging environment to the beautiful campus, I loved everything about it. Also, I love the coaches and the girls on the team, and I’m so excited to get to know them more.”

Chu’s advice on recruitment comes from a lot of experience as she comments on persistance and confidence.

“Be persistent when reaching out to college coaches to be recruited, and don’t feel down if things are not going exactly as you had planned,” Chu said.