Current Freshman Abbey Schiller, who started playing softball at age five when her dad decided to coach t-ball, is now currently playing for three different teams and plans to play in college. Schiller, the catcher for Hackley’s Varsity Softball team, plays for two different travel teams, one regular and one select, taking up a total of about 18 hours each week worth of games and practices. For Schiller, each hour counts towards her goal to play softball at the collegiate level.

“I have repetition at Hackley and the ability to fine tune outside of school,” said Schiller. Abbey’s outside of school team, the Huskies, slow down their practices since their season doesn’t start until Memorial Day weekend. However, during their season her select team travels across the country playing huge national tournaments in different states.

Along with her many practices, Schiller has been going to different camps and showcases at colleges to display her playing ability directly to the coaches. “I’ve met a bunch of different coaches from the ACC Conference and some Ivies and NESCAC schools which is cool,” said Schiller. This summer she plans on playing in eight different showcases.

For many high school athletes, the college recruitment process seems to be an enigma, trying to figure out how what the schools want to see. Peter Latson, one of Hackley’s college counselors, explains that there is no direct algorithm for this process. “Athletic recruitment is different for each sport and each division,” said Latson, “there’s no one size fits all answer.” The process completely depends on what schools you are applying to and what sport. However, Latson recommends for those who are interested in playing sports at the collegiate level to talk to their coaches, inside and outside of school, and talk to the college counselors.

According to Athletic Director, Jason Edwards, in the past decade, 123 Hackley graduates have gone on to play at the collegiate level, with an average of 14.5% of the students in each grade playing in the past four years. Currently there are fifty-one Hackley alumni playing at the college level, twenty playing D1 and thirty-one playing D3.

Schiller has a promising four years ahead of her playing for the  Hornets, “In the next four years I hope to advance my skills as a catcher,” said Schiller. “I hope to get the team as far as I can.”