The gym was packed. Cameras were rolling. Green backdrops extended from the ceiling, balloon clusters marked the ends of the twenty tables that extended across the floor, and the blue of Akron, the green of Tiffin, and blue and red of Catawba brightened up the room. Over 20 athletes waited to mark the end of their high school sports career and the beginning of their college experience with the school’s Signing Day.

High school sports are competitive as is, but playing at the next level at college is even harder mentally and physically. Only 6%-7%  of student athletes end up playing college sports, so it is a rare chance for a student to be able to play at the next level, no matter the school it is. 

“I didn’t really expect to play college baseball,” Lucas Violi, senior, said. “But when I found out a college was interested in me, I wanted to check it out. It’s a small school, but I get to play baseball and I’m really excited about that.”

There are a number of factors that go into choosing a school to compete at. Some students, like Leo Morana, senior, and Storm Miller, senior, planned to take their careers to D1 universities. Morana, a soccer player, will be playing for Akron University, while Miller, a football player, chose Texas A&M, bypassing offers from The Ohio State University and Clemson University.

“Adrian College was one of my best options for my college academic and athletic career, setting me up for the future,” Joey Cancilla, baseball player and senior, said. “ I am excited to meet new people and especially get to live in a new state.” While Cancilla heads to Michigan, other athletes will head to universities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Signing Day wasn’t just a celebration for athletes. For plenty of families and friends, the gym was filled with positivity and emotion. Parents who watched their children grow from munchkin athletes to varsity starters hugged their children and grabbed photos of them living their dreams.

“I have played baseball for twelve years and have fallen in love with the sport,” Murphy Kelley, senior, said “I have built bonds through baseball. The friends I have to this day, most of them, were from playing the sport that I love.”

For plenty of the students, Signing Day did not just mean signing to play a college sport; it also presented growth, maturity, and transitioning into adulthood and realizing that they are growing up, which is hard to grasp.

“Sophomore year into the summer is when I realized that I really wanted to play at the next level,” Violi said. “I was really thinking about it already before, but once I saw some of my friends going to the next level, that really motivated me.”

Coordinated by Athletic Director Jason Keppler, Signing Day went smoothly and everything went as planned. Videos of the athletes were displayed on the big screen. Athletes talked about why they chose where they want to go and their love of their sports. 

“Signing Day was good and everything went smoothly and effectively. It made me and everyone else felt special,” Cancilla said. “Seeing the videos of everyone talking made it emotional and happy for everyone involved.”