College Game Day: body paint on, big school sweatshirts, flaunting school spirit and hours of tailgating.  There is nothing that brings a school together like cheering at a sporting event.  For some, college sports are an important element of their college experience.  For a talented few, the experience centers on them.

“Over the past couple years I have really fallen in love with rowing,” senior Kristy says.

Kristy will row crew for Yale University in the fall. “If you asked me two years ago I would have said there was no way I would or even could play a sport in college.”

After starting crew as a freshman on varsity at Hockaday, Kristy rowed with the Hockaday rowers at the Dallas Rowing Club this year.

“The instant community of a team will make the transition to college a lot easier,” Kristy says.  “It will be a great way to meet upperclassmen as well.”

Senior Megan also plans to participate in college athletics. She swam for the Dallas Mustangs for 10 years and will continue to take part in the sport she loves at Middlebury College next year.

“I decided around junior year that I wanted to swim in college,” Megan says, “I made sure that most of the places I applied to would accommodate that.”

Megan attended a recruiting trip in September to look at Division Three sports schools.  “Swimming has been a big part of my life for a long time so I wasn’t quite ready to give it up,” she says.

Both girls know what it is like to dedicate countless hours and hard work to their sport. They applied this dedication to the recruiting process.

“Don’t be afraid to be proactive with coaches,” Megan says.

“A lot of people think that the coaches are supposed to come to you and heavily recruit you, but a lot of it is marketing yourself and contacting the coaches,” Megan adds.

There are, however, other factors that go into the college selection process.  As many high school student athletes begin their college search, balancing academics and athletics may become difficult.

Megan puts things into perspective: “Remember to keep an open mind and be flexible when you are considering colleges. Sports are not the end all be all, you are in fact there to get an education.”

Senior Taylor will be playing college lacrosse at Notre Dame University.  Taylor was featured in an article in a previous issue which can be viewed online.

—Nina