National Letter of Intent Signing Day

National Letter of Intent Signing Day by Abby Grafft
February 1st marks the National Letter of Intent signing day for many NCAA sports, including soccer. For my fellow soccer teammates and I here in Boise, Idaho, this was an exciting and very significant day. As a club team, the majority of us have played together for over six years. However, during the fall season of the past three years, we have played against each other throughout the high school soccer season. Despite our competitive spirits, playing against each other has only drawn us closer; each year we all eagerly anticipate the club soccer season as it is more competitive and only the elite players participate.

This year, every player on my club team, the Boise Capitals, committed to play soccer at the college of their choice. Because this is a first time occurrence in the history of soccer in Idaho, we drew some attention. At 4 pm on February 1st, my teammates and I met at the Boise Capitals soccer complex to sign our letters of intent together. Three different news stations attended along with several broadcasting members from our respective high schools. Our parents, teachers, coaches, athletic directors, friends, and the camera men looked on as all sixteen of us took yet another key step toward our careers as collegiate soccer players.A few of my teammates shared with me their thoughts about the experience. Melissa Peck, a senior at Borah High who plans to play at Oregon State University, said, “I thoughts this was a neat experience because have all played together for so long, and we are all such good friends even though we don’t all go to the same high school.”
Kassi Brown also shared her thoughts about the events of February 1st, “It was just fun to sign together (as a team) because we are all so close.” Brown, a teammate of mine from both Centennial High and club soccer, plans to play at the University of North Dakota in the fall.
I have played for this club team and with some of these girls since I was ten years old. We have grown up together; we have been together through injuries and good health—through wins and losses—through the good times in life and the bad. For over a year, we have all been engaged in the college recruiting process together. I can’t think of anybody else I would have rather signed my letter of intent with. And despite a hint of disappointment in knowing this is our last season together, signing our letters reinforced our feeling of camaraderie and eagerness for the future. Others felt the same way.
When asked if she was excited to play college soccer after graduating from Timberline High, Katie Martin responded, “I am really excited and nervous at the same time to play college soccer (at Carroll College), but I am going to miss all the girls on my club team very much.”
Peck agreed, “We’ve all played together for so long. I’ll miss all the great team chemistry we have shared.”
Below you can find a list of our team accomplishments as well as a list (and picture) of all sixteen girls and where they plan to attend school in the fall. I look forward to sharing this season’s experiences with you in future issues.

-Abby Grafft-

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