9 minute read
The Climb to College
TRENTON WORDEN
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Salem University Water Polo
SYDNEY HARRINGTON
Virginia Commonwealth University Volleyball
NATHAN MARSHALL
Lane Community College Baseball
While water polo may be a lesser-known sport to many, to Trenton Worden it’s everything. Since freshman year, he’s been playing (and loving) the sport. Though he wasn’t anticipating the sport to score him any financial aid for college, Worden is now going to Salem University in West Virginia on a water polo scholarship, working towards a career in real estate. “I wasn’t actively seeking out colleges and it felt so good that people were seeking me out to play for them,” he said. Worden is a multi-sport athlete, also a part of the school’s competitive swimming team. However, he much prefers water polo. “I don’t really like swimming,” the senior admitted. “I prefer polo because it gives a purpose to swimming.” Although he’s partial to water polo, Worden has acquired valuable skills from both sports. “[They’ve] taught me a lot of lessons that are applicable to school,” he said, “like working hard and getting things done that need to get done.” Since signing with the school, Worden has researched his future team. “I’m nervous to measure up to my fellow teammates…They’re really good, and it’s really scary,” he said. Even so, the athlete is excited for his time at Salem University. “I’m looking forward to the competition level being a lot higher than high school polo,” he said. “I have more fun when games are higher stakes.” Worden is grateful for the opportunity to play his sport in college, and thankful for his time with both swimming and water polo at West Albany. “I feel like they helped strengthen my work ethic, and helped me to see that the only way I’m gonna improve is by working hard. It’s such a valuable lesson.” Sydney Harrington began playing volleyball when she was in seventh grade,
a mere five years ago, making her an underdog when she began playing in high school. “I know a lot of friends that started playing in third or fifth grade, so I started pretty late,” Harrington said. “It really felt like I was at the bottom of the food chain.” Regardless of her start to the sport, Harrington was determined to improve. “I like to be good at things, and I didn’t like that I wasn’t very good at volleyball when I started.” Harrington’s hard work must have paid off, because she’s now committed to play volleyball for Virginia Commonwealth University, and has three out of four of her years there paid for due to an athletic scholarship. However, Harrington was required to make a quick decision. “[Coach Jody Rogers] told me how much she was willing to offer scholarship-wise, and then she told me that I only had a week to say yes or no.” Thankfully, it was a fairly easy choice for the senior. Between the school’s Division One volleyball program and acclaimed College of Humanities and Sciences, Harrington was able to commit to the school with ease. “VCU has exactly what I want to study—I’m planning on doing psychology and they have a phenomenal social sciences program,” she said. Though Harrington feels nervous about being across the country from her family and friends, she’s incredibly excited to further enrich her volleyball skills. “I’m just excited to get to play the sport that I love as much as I possibly can,” Harrington said. “The level of dedication [on the team] is going to be the same as mine, and so it’s going to be a completely different environment.” Playing high school volleyball has taught Harrington countless valuable life skills, as well as helping her meet lifelong friends. No longer the underdog, Harrington says that her success has given her “that amazing feeling when you work hard and earn something…It’s driven me to go for the feeling more often.” Since he was just four years old, Nathan Marshall has liked the idea of hitting a ball with a bat, but little did he know that baseball would carry on to be a passion for the majority of his life as a young adult. The now-senior says he “started off with t-ball and then moved along to baseball,” and simply “fell in love.” Even when complications arose, Marshall’s dedication to baseball remained strong. In middle school, the athlete practiced in Portland three days a week and commuted to Seattle for tournaments nearly every weekend while still keeping up with his school work. “The biggest challenges were probably the driving and logistics…I had no time for myself,” Marshall said. However, the sacrifices Marshall made were worth it. Now, he’s preparing for a new chapter of his athletic career: college baseball. In August of last year, he went to visit Lane Community College in Eugene and was offered an athletic scholarship. “I was super excited because I’ve been working for a pretty long time to get where I am,” Marshall said. Though he’s committed to Lane, Marshall’s story with baseball is not yet over. He plans on attending the college, honing his skills, and then pursuing a Division One school. “Since Lane is a community college, I want to get in and get out,” Marshall said. He plans to study something in the business field, perhaps to become a sports agent. “My life is baseball, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Marshall said. “I love it.”
By Helen Whiteside
HAILEY HEIDER
Sam Houston State University Volleyball
“Volleyball is definitely my thing.” Senior Hailey Heider has known this for over seven years, starting to play the sport when she was in just fifth grade. Now, she’s going to Sam Houston State University on a full ride athletic scholarship, planning to major in biology. “It was such a relief because the long recruiting process was over. I didn’t have to worry about it anymore,” Heider said. “I’m getting college paid for, which is so crazy and unbelievable…that’s a life changing thing that not everyone gets to experience.” For years, Heider has been inspired to pursue volleyball for a multitude of reasons, one being her role model Haylie Bennett. The athlete was an iconic volleyball player on the Oregon State team for years, before pursuing a professional career within the sport in Paris, France. “I watched her play Oregon State for five years and then watched her go pro…Following another Hailey that’s doing exactly what I want to do…it just made goals for me that I didn’t know I had,” Heider said. Although she’s now accomplished one of her biggest athletic ambitions, Heider still has a few worries. “I’m probably most nervous about playing time. Not being able to play would be my biggest fear for my freshman season,” she said. In volleyball, there’s also the matter of height - especially when it comes to Division One. “I’m only 5’11 and most girls are 6’1 or bigger,” Heider said. However, just as she’s overcome hardships in the past, Heider is confident she can make it over any struggles she may encounter in the coming years. “I know I have to work harder than an average student who doesn’t have that kind of extracurricular…It just makes the hard work worth it when you get the things you want.”
BROOKLYN STRANDY
Portland State University Basketball
Less than two percent of high school athletes play their sport Division One in college. Included in that percentage, however, is senior Brooklyn Strandy, who will be continuing her basketball career at the higher level of competition this coming fall. “I’ve played soccer, volleyball, track, cross country…but I really stuck with basketball,” Strandy said. “I fell in love with it at a very young age, and I knew that’s what was for me.” In October of 2020, Strandy was offered a full ride athletic scholarship to Portland State University and committed to play basketball for the school the following July. “It was my first offer, which means a lot,” the athlete said. “It’s my dream school.” Though Strandy is eager to start her journey at Portland State, she has her concerns. “I think going from being a leader and a main player on this team to not knowing my role next year is what I’m most nervous about…I’m going to be stepping into a new role,” Strandy said. Nevertheless, Strandy is optimistic about her time at PSU. “It’s a very urban campus…literally downtown Portland, and for me that’s perfect,” she said. “I think I’ll fit in well there.” She plans to study applied health and fitness, focusing on kinesiology. She hopes to someday work for the Chicago Bears athletic training team. Basketball has molded Strandy into the person she is today, and for that she’s forever grateful. “Basketball means everything to me. If basketball isn’t going well, I’m not going well. It’s my life line…what I’ve had from the very beginning, and what I want to always have,” she said. “It’s the most important thing in my life and my first love.” Harrington wants to thank her coaches for being exceptional, her parents for understanding the stress that comes with college sports, and her teammates for being her biggest supporters.
Worden would like to say thank you to his parents and water polo coach, Rob Nelke, for being his biggest supporters.
Marshall wants to say thank you to his family for coming to all his games and always supporting him, as well as his coaches for pushing him to work harder every day. He’d also like to thank his grandfather, for driving him everywhere and teaching him that “hard work is the only way to get to where you want to be.”
Heider would like to thank her parents and coaches for pushing her to play at the level they knew she could, as well as her team for being her best friends.
Strandy would like to thank her parents for being her biggest cheerleaders. “My mom and dad have always been there, constantly supporting me in my dreams.”
ADVICE FOR YOUNGER ATHLETES
Worden would say to keep working hard, without losing sight of the end goal.
Harrington would like to tell younger athletes that their hard work will be worth it, and to nourish their relationships with teammates, because “there’s nothing better than the family that comes with playing competitive sports.”
To younger athletes with big dreams, Marshall urges them to “work as hard as you can when you’re young...Don’t take anything for granted.”
Heider would like to advise younger athletes to strengthen their bonds with teammates. “If you don’t like each other off the court, you’re not gonna connect on the court,” she said.
Strandy would like to advise younger athletes to do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams, warning them that “there will be times where you need to train when your friends are partying, and you’ll have to get up early or stay up late doing what you need to do...You have to make sacrifices in order to stand out.”
