According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, there are around eight million students participating in their high school athletics programs across the nation.
With over eight million teenagers playing a sport at a high school level, only around 460,000 of them choose to continue playing in college.
Playing a sport in college is a student’s decision. They choose the path they want to take in college.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 4 years old and always wanted to play it in college,” Sal Zampirri, freshman soccer player, said.
What made Zampirri want to become a Cavalier? What makes most high school athletes pick Cabrini over any other college out there?
“I saw a beautiful campus, an opportunity to play on a good soccer team and to get into a good education program which the soccer coach, Rob Dallas, informed me about,” Zampirri said.
Zampirri is not the only one who saw a beautiful campus.
Sophomore, Jackie Ware, has been swimming competitively since she was 8 years old. She saw Cabrini as a great place to go to school, where she was open to many opportunities, which were both academic and non-academic.
The college reached out to her first for academic purposes. She then showed interest in the swim team and the college immediately put her into contact with the swim coach.
“Cabrini had what I called the package deal,” Ware said. “It has a wonderful education program which is what I am interested in and has a swim team with a great atmosphere, team and coaching staff.”
Stephen Colfer, assistant athletic director and head men’s lacrosse coach, explained that athletes look at three different aspects when picking a college. They look for an academic, environmental and athletic fit.
He believes that all three of these aspects are important.
“Cabrini has been pretty fortunate with the level of student-athlete’s that we have had come in,” Colfer said. “Not only athletically but also academically.”
One of the main purposes of college is to earn a degree and obtain skills that will benefit the student in the future.
“In the nature of what we do as a college, that academics has to be at the forefront of all of our recruiting discussions,” Colfer said. “Most of the student-athlete’s that come here understand that and appreciate that.”
With both education and athletics having an equal importance in college life, the athletic department looks for potential players who not only excel in a particular sport but who also show character and the ability to succeed in the classroom.
“All of the athletic coaches spend a great amount of time making sure their student-athletes are not only getting better athletically but are also staying on track academically,” Timothy McDonald, head men’s basketball coach, said.
Making sure potential Cavalier athletes understand what playing a college sport means is key.
The influx of interested incoming athletes has increased immensely and will continue to do so for the college, especially with the addition of new sports teams.
“As we continue and look at the construction of the pavilion and other advancements, that is only going to bring a higher level student-athlete,” Colfer said.
