Izzy Brisbane has been playing volleyball at BHS for the past four years as a libero. Brisbane’s journey didn’t start till later in high school, where it wasn’t until “I went to my cousin at Fairleigh Dickinson University for a football game and then went to a volleyball game. I realized that I could play in college and be on the team, September of my junior year,” Brisbane said. Brisbane also played on a club team, but since that team was smaller, she made sure to attend showcases and tournaments that had college coaches present. During her process, Brisbane was given some advice that has stuck with her. Brisbane said, “I at first didn’t have anyone to talk to but then got advice and she told me to keep reaching out and emailing schools that could be too good for you. Don’t limit yourself.” Brisbane shared how she visited four campuses, “… how the coaches spoke to me, how the students were at the school helped me shape my decision.” Since Brisbane was a newer player, she worried she wouldn’t be good enough to play collegiate volleyball and it was by “knowing that there is a school for me like everyone and would find my place,” Brisbane said. This process was obviously new to her, so she faced a few misconceptions, one of them being that it was a lot easier to get responses from college coaches. The reality of recruitment is that if you want to play a sport in college—you have to be constantly reaching out and following up with coaches. Looking back at this process, Brisbane said, “I would’ve started earlier since I didn’t start reaching out until post season last year.” Brisbane shared how she wished she knew prior to starting this process that coaches will possibly say one thing then do another. “Things will happen and you will get ghosted by coaches,” Brisbane said. Furthermore, through the ups and downs of her recruitment process, her favorite, most exciting part has been when she officially committed to Saint Vincent University, where she will be playing volleyball in the fall.

Josiah Nunez has been running track for BHS the past four years. His top times include 52.9 seconds for the 400, 233.78 seconds for the 200, and in the 4×400 (split) is 50.7 seconds. “I first started thinking about playing college sports seriously the summer of my sophomore year after the state championship,” Nunez said. Since Nunez is getting recruited and going through this process for track and field, there are no opportunities to attend any showcases. However, this puts such a huge emphasis on reaching out to coaches and making sure he gets their attention. “One piece of advice that really stuck out to me was to ask as many questions as possible,” Nunez said, “It is better to ask the coaches and admissions officers a lot of questions to show you are interested in the school.”  Nunez shared how he has visited a few campuses and that those visits where he is able to speak with the coaches, see the campus of the school, and talk to other students have really helped decide what schools are right for him or not. “There have been many schools that I have reached out to that I have not heard back from or have met their standards for times,” Nunez said, “I take the rejection as a way to mentally push me harder to get to a better [and higher] level.” During Nunez’s process, a major misconception he faces is that the coaches would be mean and rude towards him. However, “In reality the coaches just want one’s best for their program,” Nunez said. Looking back, Nunez shared how he wished he would’ve followed up with a lot more schools, “I would’ve liked to keep my options open.” Nunez said. One thing Nunez wished he knew prior to starting his recruitment process was the importance of college visits and seeing the school(s), “…there could be a school that looks good on paper but when you go to a campus you may find it’s not the right fit,” Nunez said. Nunez favorite part about going through this process has been meeting new people such as the coaches, other players, and seeing how you fit in at the school and on the team.

Laila Jackson has been playing soccer for 13 years and has been on the BHS Girls Soccer team for four years. Jackson first started thinking about playing soccer in college during eighth grade. Jackson attended many soccer showcases that college coaches would attend. At these showcases, she was able to receive emails from coaches. Jackson was given a piece of advice that has stuck with her throughout this recruitment process, Jackson said, “I didn’t need to make a decision right away and you didn’t have to play sports in college. Take your time to think about each option.” Furthermore, starting at the of Jackson’s junior year she started visiting colleges. “I visited 2 campuses, Shippensburg University and Wilson College,” Jackson said, “The campus I really liked and the accessibility of resources.” Jackson shared that she did face quite a bit of rejection from other schools. Whether it was getting no responses from college coaches, or when she would invite a coach to attend a game; but then that game gets cancelled, and that eliminates the opportunity for her to be seen. One of the misconceptions Jackson faced was, “[I] thought it would be harder than it was to find a school I liked,” Jackson said. Jackson shared how she wished she would’ve started earlier emailing coaches to get her name and profile out there. Additionally, “I would’ve joined clubs earlier than I did in freshman year,” Jackson said. Jackson’s favorite part about her recruitment process was “Officially committing to a school” Jackson said, “It was a sigh of relief and seeing the coach excited for me to commit.” Jackson will be attending Wilson College in the fall to play on their women’s soccer team.