Even though CHS does not have sports teams, that doesn’t stop students from excelling in sports at their home high schools and being recruited by college coaches. According to the NCAA, six percent of high school athletes compete for their college. CHS has a number of athletes who are aiming to be in that six percent and continue with their sport in college.

Senior Abby Silva of Neptune has been running cross country, winter track and spring track for Neptune High School since her sophomore year. She said she was contacted by colleges but mainly reached out to coaches herself. Silva stressed the importance of athletes contacting the coaches first so the coaches know the students are interested in the school. There are over 7 million high school athletes, and only enough Division I college roster spots for 2% of them, so it is crucial to get on coaches’ radars as early as freshman year.

“If they’re reaching out to you, usually that doesn’t say as much about you wanting to actually attend the school,” Silva said.

Sophomore Ron Cole of Neptune plays varsity baseball for his high school and has already committed to Penn State as a pitcher. Cole, who never emailed coaches and only made a few phone calls, said his recruiting process was fairly simple.

“I went to a tournament down in Florida with my travel team, and my coach got a bunch of college coaches to come to the game I pitched,” Cole said.

Coaches of schools such as Penn State, Maryland, James Madison and Stony Brook all expressed interest in Ron and shortly after he made visits to those colleges. Penn State made an offer to Cole and he decided to commit there because it was the best fit for him, Cole said.

For many athletes, such as Silva, the recruiting process puts pressure on the athletes to perform at a certain level to be noticed by a coach and possibly receive a scholarship.

“At times, there is a little bit of pressure to perform well and hit those times that would make the coaches more interested in you because it really is solely based off of those times that you hit,” Silva said.