The second of three National Signing Days was on Wednesday, and the Scouts continued the trend of having myriad student athletes signing to play in college. There were seven student-athletes who signed their National Letters of Intent to play their sports at their respective colleges on Wednesday. 

The athletes who signed Wednesday were: Mary Grace King, swimming at Colgate; Alyia Maldonado, basketball at Chatham; Anthony Mordini, basketball at Ohio Wesleyan; Jen Proeh, volleyball at DePauw; Bella Ranallo, basketball at Clemson; Gianni Royer, baseball at Holy Cross; and Chelsea Tzau, lacrosse at Colby. 

A student-athlete will always face adversity in any sport, but it just shows how their hard work and determination will get them through it. Many of the student-athletes had to overcome at least one obstacle in their journey to playing collegiate sports. 

“For me, it was overcoming my perfectionism, and learning that one mistake does not take away from a great performance,” said senior and Holy Cross baseball commit Gianni Royer. 

Royer is just one of many student athletes at Lake Forest High School who have dedicated precious time to perfecting their craft. All of these athletes can relate to the sacrifices they had to make week in and week out in order to get them to where they are today. 

Not only do these athletes spend an incredible amount of time practicing whenever they can, but as Mr. Burkhalter notes, the true unsung heroes of these players’ journeys are their parents. It is easy to overlook the fact that each athlete is where they are today because of the support they received at home. 

Not many parents are willing to spend their weekends in a hotel at a sports tournament. However, they are the ones that get to watch their child on Signing Day like so many did on Wednesday. It is these moments that make all of the blood, sweat, and tears worth it for the players and their parents.

We wish all seven of the student-athletes who signed on Wednesday the best of luck with either the rest of their season or their season coming up in the spring, as well as next year in college.