From grass fields to the ice rink, from swimming pools to squash courts, Deerfield graduated 18 alumni from the class of 2016 to an NCAA Division 1 athletic team in a wide variety of sports. And as they strive competitively in their respective colleges, they attribute much of their skills to what they learned on and off the field during their years at Deerfield.
Phil Goss ’16, a player on Brown University’s lacrosse team, felt that Deerfield’s high level of lacrosse has helped prepare him for college. “In [lacrosse, Deerfield is] lucky enough to play in one of the best, if not the best, league in the country,” Goss noted. “It’s amazing how many kids at the Division 1 level we played against in high school. Deerfield was great preparation.”
Emily Yue ’16, a member of the Harvard University women’s ice hockey team, also believes that Deerfield prepared her for college-level sports: “Life at Deerfield was always busy for me, so I felt really prepared for the time commitment of college sports. I spend more time in the rink now, but I also have more free time in general, so it balances out pretty well.”
While many student athletes find that they have an increased amount of free time, other students believe that sports commitments present a challenge in time management. “The most difficult transition from Deerfield athletics to D1 athletics has been time commitment,” Emerson Logie ’16, a member of the Brown University football team explained. “I have practices, workouts, and team meetings for about five or six hours every day, so that has taken some getting used to.”
Despite the large time commitment, alumni said that playing on an athletics team so far has been enjoyable and even advantageous when fitting in as a new student. Annie Blasberg ’16, a member of the Dartmouth women’s squash team, commented, “My favorite part about being on the team so far has been becoming close with the upperclassmen. It’s always nice when you’re somewhere new to have a group of people you can rely on and go to for advice.”
All of the athletes attribute a great deal of their success to their time at Deerfield. In particular, they gave credit to their coaches. “I really can’t say enough about how much the people in the Deerfield community helped me through the recruiting process,” recalled Logie. “People like Coach Barbato, Coach Silipo, Coach Davis, Mr. Philie, and Mr. Emerson were always there for me, and I can’t even begin to thank them enough for all they’ve done for me.”
As each alumnus has transitioned from Deerfield into the next step of his or her life, they each agreed that personal well being is most important.