On Feb. 5, Millard West had its Winter signing day, an opportunity for high school seniors to sign the Letter of Intent to play their selected sport for a college.
Millard West hosts three different signing days: one in the fall, winter and spring. The school has been doing this for many years but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been changes. Since 2019, the infamous signing day has been held in the gym so that athletes can have a crowd of their loved ones.
“I tell the guests that come it’s kind of like graduation day for athletes,” activities director Lance Smith said. “It is obviously positive and they like seeing the college coaches and their teammates coming to watch.”
Signing day is a fun event to reward the athletes after all the hard work and commitment they spent on their sport. Playing at a Class A high school may be fun but it still comes with its hurdles. This could be injuries or mental health battles sports can occasionally bring.
“The mental aspect of the sport was the toughest for me,” senior Litzey Fredette said. “I wanted to quit during my sophomore year; I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere with it. However, I had a wonderful support system from my coaches, family, and friends that pushed me to continue doing what I loved.”
Even after surviving the mental and physical battles sports can bring, it isn’t always certain whether athletes want to sign. Doubts are a common occurrence for seniors when it comes to picking a college.
“I believe I will have my work cut out for me in college because I am going for a nursing major,” senior Kenzie Harris said. “I had a lot of doubts about signing, I didn’t think I would be a good enough softball player or able to handle such a challenging major with softball but I am going to put in the work to make my dream work out.”
The way signing day works is that athletes will have to choose what college they want to play their sport or if they don’t want to play in college. To get these future students to attend their college, schools do their best to appeal to these students’ needs and hearts. This could mean college coaches talking to the coaches or setting up time for the seniors to get a glimpse of the team’s dynamics.
“Once I started thinking about playing for college Doane stuck out for sure,” senior Miles Mollring said. “I had family who went there but a lot of what makes Doane appealing to me is the team, so if I didn’t get signed, I would think about going to UNL.”
Although the beginning of college is going to be stressful and different, the signing day is a great way to help athletes make that jump. Wherever their sport leads them it’s good to know they got the beginning from Millard West.
