My early recruitment experience

by Haley Farella

“Why are you studying? You already know where you’re going to college.”

This is the simple question I receive daily. I hear this because I committed to play lacrosse at the University of Colorado when I was a sophomore. Many people assume that committed athletes don’t have to try in school because they already know where they are going to college. This, in fact, is not the case.

When athletes commit to a college, they are not automatically accepted into the school. They have to keep their grades up, behave and make sure their sports skills are improving. There is no room for a committed athlete to slack off.

My friends will be talking at the lunch table about where to go to college and what schools to visit, but then they’ll look at me and say, “You’re so lucky, you already know where you are going to school.” I do know where I am going to college, but I still had to go through the process. At the ages of 14 and 15, I flew across the country to visit schools with my parents. Feburary of my Freshman year I visited my first college out in California, and in the summer of the Freshman year I spoke to a college coach on the phone for a phone interview, the first interview I have ever had in my life. By sophomore year, I was sifting through websites of colleges, trying to figure out what majors were available and what majors were right for me. I had to make many decisions so early in my life. I was worrying about my college major before I was even worrying about my JRP.

For me, going through this process at a younger age was much harder than I think it would have been if I had gone through it this year. While most 14- and 15-year-olds spend their free time relaxing and hanging out with friends, I was spending my time on the road or on a plane visiting schools and playing at recruiting camps or tournaments. It was tough because so many people around me weren’t feeling the stress of college just yet, so besides a few of my teammates, there was nobody else to talk about it with.

My sister, Carley, recently committed to CU as well for lacrosse. Cool, right? And the funny thing is, she is a freshman. Similar to my experience, when her friends were worrying about what classes to take sophomore year, Carley had to stress where she was going to spend her four years of college. She had to go through this process without the help of her friends, considering she was so young.

January 9th of her freshmen year, Carley visited CU. On this day, at the age of 15, she had her first interview with the coach. So young, Carley had to handle all these decisions. Then throughout the spring she visited more college schools, only creating bigger decisions for her to make. In March, she had to weigh out all the factors and decide as a freshman where to spend college, and she decided to join me to play at CU.

Committing to a college at such a young age has given me the chance to fall in love with CU before I even get there. But it has also made me even more worried about grades. I actually try harder in school now because I want to give myself the best chance of getting in. Not only do I have to worry about grades, but I also have to make sure my fitness and lacrosse skills all stay in check. It definitely is a lot of pressure.

So yes, although I do know where I am going to college earlier than most, I still have the stress of getting in. The application process is still the same and contrary to popular belief, I still have to apply to the school. So to all those young athletes out there who want to play at the college level, don’t assume that if you commit early you can stop trying in school. The recruiting process is tough and so is being a student-athlete. But it is all worth it in the end when you find the right school.