Every year several Whitefish Bay High School students commit to play a sport at the college level. This is something 6.19% of students are able to achieve in America. 

For the juniors and seniors already committed, the sports include soccer, football, volleyball, swimming, and lacrosse. 

For swimmer junior Casey Stephens, who is committed to Miami University, her motivation was that she “genuinely love[s] to swim, and the scholarship is a benefit too.”  

Joe Brunner, who is playing football at University of Wisconsin-Madison next year, started the recruiting process and committed “because I believe playing football at the University of Wisconsin will not only help me become a better athlete, but also a better man, and help create friends that I will have for the rest of my life.”

For aspiring college athletes, Stephens says, “work hard in training, but don’t forget to enjoy the process too because it can become overwhelming to be completely immersed in your goal of playing in college. Enjoy the process and have a little fun!” Similarly, Brunner says, “Work hard every chance you get, set realistic goals for yourself that you can achieve everyday, and work hard in the classroom as well.” 

There are several programs for student athletes to go into at the collegiate level. The majority of colleges are under the NCAA system, with Division I, Division II, and Division III as the rankings. There is also the NAIA, which is made up of smaller schools in North America. Scholarships are given out in all the divisions except NCAA Division III.

Taking this into account was important for Stephens, as she says, “Don’t narrow out any types of colleges before visiting because you can be surprised about what you like and dislike. Make sure you are talking to a wide variety of schools. For instance, don’t talk to just big schools or exclusively city schools, because you might end up preferring to be in a college town in a medium college. Also I recommend talking to at least one school from each division to see what you like.”

Brunner’s final piece of advice for student athletes was, “when you decide on a college to go play a sport, listen to your heart and trust it. Nobody else is gonna go and put the work in at 6 o’clock in the morning. Make sure it’s the right fit for you, not anyone else.”

Congratulations to all the students who have committed already, and good luck to those pursuing college sports careers!