Four senior athletes, Ava Nawrocki, Reese Artura, Sophia Astacaan, and Marisol Cowles, have committed to play NCAA athletics at colleges and universities next year.
Ava is heading off to Wagner College in the state of New York for softball.
Reese is going to attend Santa Clara University to carry on with her water polo journey.
Sophia is off to continue volleyball at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Marisol is going to intensify her training in water polo at the University of California in Irvine.
According to catchmarksports.com, more than three million high school students participate in organized sports each school year.
But 94% of them do not advance to college. The difference between them and the 6% who do? According to Ava, Reese, Sophia and Marisol, it’s work, work and more work.
“I sent out [a ton] of emails and posted highlight reels,” said Ava regarding her approach to college recruitment. “I ended up getting offered at the start of my senior year. I was recruited completely online.”
Since Wagner College is all the way in New York, online highlights served as a vital tool for Ava and her future coaches.
All of that work won’t be letting up anytime soon.
“I know that next year I will be playing against girls who have been there a lot longer than me and are a lot stronger,” said Marisol. “So I will have to prove that I deserve to be there just as much as them.”
“I have never lived in a different place and been away from my family while [balancing sports and academics]. I would say that’s going to be the biggest change,” said Sophia about her unnavigated road ahead.
These star athletes dedicated themselves to success at an early age.
“Once I turned 12 I decided I wanted to play water polo in college,” Marisol said.
Ava started playing softball when she was six. And if she had to stop her career now? “It would feel like I’m losing part of myself,” she said.
Reese’s clarity didn’t come until her sophomore year, when she got deeply involved with the sport. “I started competing in the Junior Olympics, joined club teams, and got into ODP (Olympic Development Program)”, she explained. “Then college became a bigger goal.”
One secret to their success, according to Ava, is their time management. “I wouldn’t come home till 10 or 10:30 pm because I had basketball, then travel softball from, then straight to another basketball practice,” Ava said. “I learned to take advantage of office hours, finishing homework during Tolog time or lunch, and building those one-on-one relationships with my teachers.”
Reese Artura has similar experiences with traveling all over for water polo, even out of the country: “I had to plan ahead, stay organized, and sometimes do homework in the car or late at night. But I stayed focused because I knew what I was working toward.”
For guidance through the tough times, they relied on family.
“My idol was always my father,” said Ava. “The amount of hours he spent trying to fix my swing, hit me pop flies, or even drive me to far, far away tournaments means so much. I wouldn’t be where I am today and I wouldn’t be going to college for softball if it wasn’t for him.”
Sophia agrees.“My parents, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” said Sophia. “They spent countless hours driving me to tournaments and practices and have always pushed me to do the best I possibly can.”
According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business School, students who compete in college sports are not only more likely to live lives of purpose and social success, they develop the skills necessary to climb the corporate ladder and achieve high-paying careers. In fact, an astounding 95% of today’s Fortune 500 CEO’s played organized sports when they attended college.
With that in mind, we at the Veritas Shield are very proud of Reese, Sophia, Marisol and Ava. We anticipate great things for them and look forward to hearing about all that they learn and accomplish in the years ahead.