The COVID-19 pandemic has made a significant change to daily life, but one aspect of life that has been hard to deal with is recruiting. Many juniors, known as fifth formers at Hill, have had a hard year trying to get noticed by coaches when the recruiting process has limited opportunities for showcases and official visits. 

Student-athletes are still unable to meet with Division I coaches in person; this has been a rule set by the NCAA since the pandemic started. The limits placed on these athletes have been stressful for them because this is their future that they are playing for.

Gilbert Saunders III ’22, a member of the Hill baseball, said that COVID-19 has affected his recruiting process since the summer “since coaches were unable to see me play.” Saunders also mentioned how at this time he would probably have been committed but due to the pandemic he cannot go on his official visits. 

Visiting schools has been the main issue for many student-athletes. Seeing the school in person is nothing close to a virtual tour. The dead period has affected Emma Lewis ’22, a member of Hill girls lacrosse. Lewis said, “The dead period was expanded, so it’s a lot harder to talk to schools.” She also mentioned how her process, like Saunder’s, has been slow because of the lack of visits. 

Another aspect of sports that has been affected is practices. Many clubs have changed hours and also can only have so many practices during the week. Maddy Orsi ’22, a member of Hill field hockey, said, “Before we were only allowed to have hour-long practices instead of our usual two, but thankfully that just recently changed back to normal.”

There has been a theme of this pandemic throughout the journey of these student-athletes, and that has been a lack of in-person events. Many players can contact coaches online (via phone call, text, email and Zoom), but that is not as personable. 

Some student-athletes have opted not to join in-person in the spring session due to recruiting. The Hill School has been very strict about students leaving campus for sporting events. Orsi said, “I can’t really miss practice, so Hill’s rule of us not being allowed to leave every time we need to is the main reason why I have not decided if I’m going back or not.” She expressed how hard it is to make a decision when in-person learning is important but her athletic future at the college level also matters. 

Hill is making decisions about leaves for the safety of those who are on campus. That leaves student-athletes with the decision to stay home with the freedom to showcase their talent or be in-person on campus and play their spring sport.