Ithaca College

The next time I lace up my pads and throw on my helmet I will be wearing Ithaca Bomber blue and white. I'm very excited to attend Ithaca as a highly recruited Safety. I love playing defense, and that is where they want me, so it works out perfectly. Ithaca College is within driving distance of my home town of Montvale New Jersey. About 3 and a half hours by car (not too far, but far enough). They have already mailed me work outs and defensive schemes to learn this summer. It is going to be a hard summer of training, but I can't wait. I'm so happy the process is finally over and I am set on a college who will be as excited when I show up to camp as I will be. I want to thank my fans and urge them to continue to support me at Ithaca.

And then there were two

I have narrowed down my college choices to Muhlenberg and Ithaca. They are both very competitive Division III programs with great history. They play high caliber, fast football, which I have decided is good enough for me. I chose the Division III schools over some Division I AA schools because of the opportunity to play as a freshman or sophmore at one of these smaller schools. Either way it is good football and I will be tested. I have toured by campuses and athletic facilities, and now it is just a matter of which college makes me feel more at home. Both schools will provide me with an excellent education which was very important to both me and my parents. I look forward to making a final decision soon, and ask of my fans to please wait patiently.

Recruiting

It looks like I am recieving the most attention from colleges for football. This is good news considering football has emerged as my number 1 choice. These coaches keep calling me and telling me different things. It is not that they are lying, its just that I feel like they fail to tell you the entire truth, and leave out things they do not want you to know. It is hard to judge them all, and figure out who I can trust. For this I turn to my parents and coaches, and let them help me make the proper decisions. Also these men are very demanding, and expect alot from me. It is hard to schedule visits to their campuses around my busy high school schedule. Jesus, who knew this recruiting process would be so hard.

Parents

I'm just starting to hit my stride in baseball. My swing is finally perfect again, and I am playing a smoothe third base. Everything is great, right? Wrong. My grades have slipped a little bit in the second marking half of senior year. A mixture of laziness and being so busy with sports. My mom has threatened to keep me off the baseball team this spring if my work does not improve. I don't think she understands that she is just adding more pressure, and adding to the stress. Whatever. I'll pull it together. I think she is bluffing anyway.

Victory

What a game. We took out Highlands. Still undefeated. The crowd was crazy and the atmosphere was incredible. Thank God we won. After the game there were a bunch of big parties to celebrate, but I had a history project due on Monday, and practice Saturday and Sunday. I would have really enjoyed going out and celebrating the win with my teammates and friends but I had to stay in and do the work. With practice every day, for three seasons, it is sometimes very hard to budget my time for school work. I often times miss out on activities with my friends because I'm always so damn busy. But hey thats the price you pay, and if we keep winning, then it is worth it.

Pressure

Today is Friday, but not just any Friday. Tonight we host Northern Highlands in an NBIL basketball showdown. Both teams are county powerhouses, making for one of the most hyped up and anticipated games in the state. We are both undefeated and bitter rivals, so tonight something has got to give. The atmosphere is ridiculous. I can not walk through the hallways without a teacher or student asking me about the big game tonight. There are Facebook groups, and Myspace event invitations being sent to the entire town. I feel as if the well being of our district depends solely on this game. Paying attention in class is beyond impossible. My mind is inundated with images of victory. The Cowboys will bring their best tonight, and we will not let our fans down. We can't. Everything depends on us winning.