Signing out: OH athletes officially commit to college programs

On April 12, various senior athletes from the Oswego athletics program stepped into the spotlight to commit to their futures. This annual event, referred to as Signing Day, is extremely important to celebrate all of the seniors’ accomplishments and their exciting endeavors after high school.

There are three signing day events per year: one for fall, winter, and spring. Senior athletes who were recruited for college sports were able to sign up for a time slot to photograph their accomplishments while all their family, friends, and teammates rallied around in support. The participants were encouraged to get all decked out in their college gear as they signed the paper, officially committing to their school of choice.

The signing participants this spring were: 

Barry King, who will play tennis for Cedarville University,

Avery Kincaid, who will play tennis for College of DuPage, 

Bo Thomas, who will play baseball for Illinois Valley Community College, 

Ryan Jednachowski, who will be running track and cross country for Augustana University, 

Brady Nelson, who will be running track and cross country for Marquette University, 

Brodey Skipworth, who will be running track for Oklahoma Christian University, 

Lauren Widmer, who will play soccer for University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 

Larissa Barreto, who will play soccer for Aurora University, 

Carmen Guzman, who will play soccer for Calvin University, 

Jeremiah Akin, who will play basketball for Coe College, 

Brayden Hedquist, who will be wrestling for Joliet Junior College, and 

Nia Wilkens-Jones, who will be bowling for Aurora University. 

College athlete recruitment is very selective, so any athlete who signs to play a sport, even if not on an athletic scholarship, is celebrated during signing day.

“There are 8 million high school athletes, and only 600,000 of them get to play college, so just the fact they’re getting to play in college at all is pretty special,” Mr. Darren Howard, OH Athletic Director and long-time coach, said. 

The competitive nature of college athletics puts pressure on high school athletes. Many of our own OH athletes experienced trouble when figuring out their plans for the future. 

“It’s definitely difficult, especially when you are trying to go to a D1 school- that’s pretty competitive, especially when you are looking out of state,” senior athlete Audra Soderlind said. 

Soderlind was recruited by Iowa State University to become a member of both their track program and their cross-country program. She signed during the winter signing day this year on November 9. Soderlind explained that the process of networking with these schools isn’t always the easiest.

Despite this, it only took Soderlind two college visits to determine that Iowa State University was the school for her. She was then able to begin the process of getting recruited. 

The process of getting recruited can be a little lengthy, and especially stressful for high school athletes.

“My junior year I started reaching out to different schools and I figured out which ones I wanted to go to,” Lauren Widmer, another OH senior, said. Widmer officially committed to play soccer at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on April 12. She reached out to coaches of soccer programs that she was interested in and attended a college scouting ID camp to show off her skills.

This is a common process that many high school athletes follow as they work out their post-high school plans. They begin just as any other student would- making a list of schools that they are interested in attending for college. Then they will go on tours to these schools to confirm their interest. 

After confirming the schools they like, high school athletes follow a slightly different process than regular applicants. Starting their junior year, athletes are cleared to reach out to college coaches to learn more about their programs and possible opportunities. Sometimes colleges also give prospective athletes the chance to visit their school and show the coaches what they’ve got. 

“I saw that UMass Dartmouth had an ID camp coming up- so I went there,” Widmer said. “At the ID camp I went there, played, I kept talking, I sent over my highlight video.” 

Widmer, like many other high school athletes, seized the opportunity given to her and was able to show off her skills to the UMass Dartmouth soccer program.

Howard said his favorite part of the job is watching the athletes. He oversees their entire high school careers and watches them become successful college athletes. 

“Incoming freshmen come in kind of scared and not sure they want to be, and we watch them develop into athletes who get to move on to the next level,” Howard said.

The OH athletic program has pushed these athletes throughout their time here at OH to be their best and play their best. As the athletes developed and grew through the years, both their skills and their bond with their teammates got stronger and stronger. 

“I love the team. Everyone is so nice to each other and we all have a common goal of wanting to win and do our best,” Widmer said. 

Athletes are able to build a strong bond with their teammates and experience important moments and successes with them together.

“Everyone was down on the line with me at state junior year and then senior year we were there as a team which was a cool experience,” Soderlind said. 

Having a player’s teammates and friends there to support them through their greatest challenges is key to performing their best. Each athlete at OH has worked hard throughout their years to get to the level they’re at and achieve their goals. They are chasing new opportunities and will do great things on their college teams.