Committed to the dream


Committed to the Dream

by Ava Calderon, The Standard

It is a natural part of a student athlete’s life to enter the college admissions process earlier than their peers. However, with early morning and nighttime practices, injuries, and balancing schoolwork and social life, commits also feel the pressures of the college admissions process earlier than their peers.

“Our [lacrosse] team, we practice three times a week, and then we work out twice a week in the morning. I shoot every day we don’t have practice,” Matt Chopp (‘18), who committed to St. John’s University, said.

May Pertofsky (‘19) committed to the University of Michigan in her sophomore year of high school.

“I’m just training a lot, playing a lot of good volleyball. Staying in shape, and just listening to my coaches and trying to get better every day. We practice every day after school. Conditioning and weights are usually both an hour, and then practice is two and a half hours,” Pertofsky said.

With college comes a fresh start. SC’s student athletes are delighted to have the opportunity to jump to the next level in their careers, and prosper in a new and exciting environment. Meeting new people, living in a dorm, and taking their very first steps into adulthood are only a few of the aspects of college commits look forward to.

“It’s such a great honor to have the opportunity to go to a place like UPenn, with such a prestigious reputation. I’m just so happy that I get the chance to [play volleyball at college level]. When I was at UPenn it really felt like home to me, and I love everything about it,” Sarah Schneider (‘19) said.

Commits not only have to face the pressure of succeeding in the sport of their choice, but the change in environment they must undergo. In addition to all the anticipation, commits understandably experience stress.

“College lacrosse is going to be at a much higher level than high school, so [I’m nervous about] getting used to the speed of the game,” Chopp said.

While commits all share athletic gifts, they differ in their future plans and ambitions. In ten years time, SC commits share with us where exactly they see themselves.

“Hopefully, I’ll have a nice job, and I’ll be settled down somewhere. Be close to my family, because I love them and want to stay close to them forever,” Pertofsky said.