On Nov. 11, more than 200 San Diego student-athletes signed their National Letter of Intent to be a future collegiate athlete. The ceremony at the Hall of Champions in Balboa Park hosted athletes from each high school in San Diego. Three Lancers signed off to colleges to pursue their passions in the future.

As the pressure for college apps begins for most seniors on campus, NLI allows athletes to commit to a college at the beginning of their school year, which lightens their load of applications.

“It’s really relieving,” senior Nathan Walker said. “It’s nice knowing that not only do you get to go to the school you want to go to, but you don’t have to deal with the stress of college apps.”

The NLI lets students go to the college of their dreams, but there are some rules that apply. If a student athlete signs to a school, they must complete one full academic year at the school in that sport. If a student is offered a NLI by a school, however, they are not required to sign on to it. It is made by choice.

“I looked into the program and talked to some of the coaches,” senior Trevor Rosenberg said. “Mostly the coaches looked out to me.”

The recruitment process takes a very long time. It begins freshman year through the end of junior year. Athletes have to participate in tournaments, practices and keep their eyes open for recruitment opportunities. A lot of messaging and communication is involved. From email to email and from phone call to phone call, players are able to communicate with coaches to set up times to be watched to see their skills.

“It takes a lot of emailing and calling people,” Rosenberg said. “Ever since freshman year I’ve been keeping in contact with coaches from different places to get opportunities to show off my skills.”

Players are watched as many times as it takes for college coaches to decide if they want them or not. For most sports, it depends on what position you play.

“Well the way it works with baseball is the pitchers and the power hitters get recruited first because they are easier to watch every game,” Walker said. “The middle infielders and the center fielders and other positions get recruited later because coaches have to go to several different games to watch them play enough.”

Going through all this hard work has its perks. While most seniors are stressing to get a personal statement done, athletes like Walker and Rosenberg can relax and enjoy the rest of their senior year.

“Baseball is a fun thing to do,” Rosenberg said. “I’m just going to try and go as far as I can.”

Signers:

Nathan Walker: University of San Diego (baseball)

Trevor Rosenberg: University of San Diego (baseball)

Delaney Benson: Fort Lewis College (girls lacrosse)