As many senior athletes wrap up their final seasons at OHS, they are confronted with the decision of whether or not they will continue their athletic pursuits in college and commit to a sport. Many talented athletes with the potential to play are choosing to end their sports careers with the foreboding commencement of graduation, starting a new era of their lives in college.
One of the reasons students make these choices is because many athletes must juggle the pressures of committing a large chunk of their time to sports while also maintaining their grades and staying on top of schoolwork.
“I’ve had a lot of pressure put on me [because of soccer] and I don’t want to feel that anymore in college,” said Emma Hesse, senior.
Choosing not to commit to the rigor and demand of a college sport can free up time for the pursuit of a study that will put these students ahead of the game when starting their careers.
“I see myself more focused on pursuing my major [political science], and with my major, there wouldn’t be time to balance both sports and education,” said Jaya Amoako-Agyei, senior.
Sports can become a fully immersive experience for athletes taking up all their time and dictating their lifestyle.
“I think so much of my life right now is basketball; all the people I’m friends with and the majority of my day is dedicated to basketball,” said Sanjana Karra, senior.
Although the sense of dedication and commitment that comes with a sport is not bad, priorities can become different when thinking about college and future professional endeavors.
“With basketball, I wouldn’t be able to get where I want professionally and career-wise,” Karra said.
More free time leads to new opportunities besides just pursuing a major that can be available to college students not committed to playing a sport.
“It will give me the chance to try new things, whether that’s rushing for Greek life or meeting new people and joining clubs,” Amoako-Agyei said.
However, not getting a formal offer or signing a commitment contract to be a collegiate athlete doesn’t mean saying goodbye to sports forever.
“I think there will be other opportunities for me to play soccer again [in college] with club or intramural,” Hesse said.
Committed or not, athletes all have learned very applicable life lessons from their sports that can be taken with them on their college journeys. Guiding them through life are the values and morals that were taught to them by their coaches and teammates respectively.
“I am going to use the life lessons that basketball taught me [on and off the court] and apply them to my time at college,” Karra said.
