Student Athletes at North Dedicate Themselves to Earning Athletic Scholarships

Through his 12 years of coaching softball and baseball, Freedline has seen many high school athletes earn scholarships to play at the college level. He has seen athletes spend hours reaching out to colleges, studying hard and perfecting their craft in hopes of earning a scholarship. But many wonder if the outcome is worth all the effort.

“It definitely reduces the money, which is really good,” senior and varsity baseball player Peyton Caples said. “It makes it more affordable for people and then it makes you want to work harder to keep [the scholarship]. Plus I really enjoy playing baseball. I feel like I could play at the next level and it’s just really fun. It’s a good way to meet people at college and have a friend group already going into college.”

Caples, as well as other senior athletes like Lucy Fajatin, have been practicing their craft, communicating with colleges and aiming for the opportunity to obtain an athletic scholarship. Some athletes, like Caples, start looking for scholarships as early as freshman year. 

“I reached out and emailed,” Caples said. “ I emailed Missouri S&T and I was just emailing them and I told them that I had a tournament and they came and watched a game. Illinois Tech, I emailed them back and forth a couple times and I had a couple calls with them. And then they came to watch me play towards the end of the season.” 

Many athletes begin to consider playing college athletics through private club teams they are a part of. Through Premier Baseball Academy, which Caples plays for during the summer, he had gotten in touch with multiple college coaches. Many of these clubs have coaches who help athletes get in contact with college coaches. Fajatin, who plays softball in the summer through St. Louis Heat, got in contact with Maryville, Missouri Baptist and St. Louis University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Once an athlete is in contact with a college, that’s when the game starts. 

“Most of the summer I played in a lot of showcases,” Fajatin said. “The organizers put out on social media who’s going to be there. And then you go there and you play against teams in the tournament and then [college coaches] basically come out and watch and recruit and see who they want.”

During the summer and during the FHN sports seasons, Caples and Fajatin have both been keeping up with their stats and recording games to show colleges their athletic abilities. But when giving out athletic scholarships, recruiters look for a good athlete as well as a good student. 

“They want to know that their scholarships are not going to go to waste,” Freedline said. “So, when [recruiters] come out and look at them, they watch them when they’re on the field, off the field, how they act, how they warm up, so they know they’re getting a good quality person. Half the player, half the game.” 

These athletes, and many more, have worked tirelessly in hopes of earning a scholarship to help support their future endeavors. But these athletes have the same thing in common; the love of the game. 

“‘I’d say that no matter what, keep going,” Caples said. “There’s going to be setbacks, but in the end, if you really want it and you love the game, you will succeed.”