Second chances aren’t common, so when 2014 graduate Drew Bryan got one, he seized it. He had missed his chance to be recruited for cross country and track, since he didn’t achieve any standout times until the track season in the spring of his senior year.
A second opportunity came later in the year, when he visited his future college.
“I ended up just applying to schools,” he said. “When I got into Carnegie Mellon, I visited and met with the coach and he said that based on my times from senior year, I could definitely have a spot on the cross country and track teams.”
Besides Bryan’s success at CMU, Stephanie Ho and Stephen Cho, also from the class of 2014, have continued their athletic endeavors at the college level.
Ho moved from the quiet suburbs of Saratoga to the busy streets of New York, where she attends New York University (NYU) and plays for its Division III soccer team.
During the recruiting process, she received support from her coaches, who helped pinpoint which schools would best suit her in terms of academics and athletics and also contacted some college coaches on her behalf.
Ho chose NYU based on its flexibility with its academics and sports.
“I decided on a DIII school because academics were my main concern, and soccer is an addition to my college experience,” she said. She does not plan on playing professional soccer after college.
One of the biggest differences between collegiate sports and high schools sports, Ho said, is the difference in time commitment.
“In high school and club soccer, the practices are planned primarily around school,” she said. “Playing in college, you have to schedule your classes around practice times. Also, balancing [school] work and practice is a lot more challenging.”
Soccer, however, is only one of many popular collegiate sports. Bryan, now a freshman at Carnegie Mellon, earned a spot in the Division III cross country and track teams, but unlike Ho, his journey to becoming a college athlete was a bit more complicated.
“I never thought I was good enough to run in college until my junior year track season, [when] I qualified for SCVALs in the two mile,” he said. “I ran a 10:19 in the two-mile race and after that, I began to realize that I had the potential to run in college.”
According to Bryan, high school athletes have “nearly perfect conditions to work out in,” with homemade meals after workouts and constant reminders from mom to hydrate for the race the following day.
“In college, you train harder by running more miles per week and for faster and longer intervals, but you also have to train yourself to eat the right things and hydrate without anyone telling you to,” he said.
On the other hand, Cho caught the eye of a college coach during his time in high school. His dream of playing water polo in college came true in early October of his senior year, when he was accepted to Harvard University. He now plays on its Division I water polo team.
“The recruiting process for me was very nerve-racking. You never completely know what the coach thinks of you or if he wants you on his team,” Cho said. “The only thing you can do is let your game do the talking.”
Cho has seen the the big commitment made when playing a sport in college.
“In college, the sport you play will be a huge part of your college life,” Cho said. “I spend close to four hours a day training for water polo.”
They offer similar advice to those who want to play collegiate sports. Ho recommends communicating with coaches of schools of interest as well as “[prioritizing] what [you] want from a school, for example athletics, academics, or location.”
Bryan also feels that passion for a sport is key.
“Only [playing college sports] if you really love it,” he said “Don't play college sports because you want to impress someone or your community; do it because you can't live without the sport and you would be doing it even if you weren't on a team.”