With LM’s signing days having just happened, the three athletes who recently declared where they will pursue athletics at the collegiate level certainly have stories worth highlighting. These athletes are Amanda Bailey ’24 for esports at Boise State, Zion Gray ’24 for football at the University of Rochester, and Declan Mack ’24 for lacrosse at Gettysburg College.
At the age of twelve, Bailey started her journey with playing Overwatch, a wildly popular action video game. She had always enjoyed video games and knew she wanted to pursue something in the field when the Overwatch League was created, she realized that this was what she wanted to specialize in. At one particular Esports Tower college showcase, Bailey caught the eye of Chris Haskell, coach of the Boise State Esports program. Haskell had spent lots of time convincing and recruiting Bailey as one of his players, culminating in a tour over the summer where he offered her a great scholarship. Bailey has also faced multiple challenges directly, part of that being the fact that women in this field are typically pressured into a specific playstyle. Bailey once previously tried to fit into the stereotype of women being only supporting players, but she quickly decided to go against that and play with more combat. She found that since Boise State had a big support system for women in Esports. This was the perfect place for her and her future.
This next athlete, Gray, will be attending the University of Rochester to continue his football career. Gray reached the varsity team his sophomore year and by junior year was a certified starter. As someone who plays both offense and defense, he has a lot of responsibility on the field and is definitely a leader. It can be difficult for athletes to balance multiple positions, but Gray manages to thrive regardless. Gray’s football career started when his friends convinced him to start playing and, ever since, he knew he would go far in his athletic career. He also believes that he wouldn’t be where he is now without the help of his parents: “My biggest supporters have definitely been my parents. Without them, none of this would have been possible.” They have helped him not only with his football career but also finding out what he wants to do in the future and helping him get there. He is very determined to become a sports psychologist in the future. Certainly, his knowledge of playing sports will help him relate to the athletes he treats.
The last athlete will be playing at Gettysburg College next year. Mack has played many sports, such as soccer, basketball, and baseball, but he started playing lacrosse in the fifth grade. Along with his expertise in lacrosse, he is an instrumental part of the LM football team. From a young age, Mack had always been and active kid and just wanted to get outside and play. However, balancing many sports at one time, especially at a high level, is hard. First to go was baseball, then basketball, and finally soccer; “I dropped soccer over a lot of thinking because I needed to give myself more time to focus on lacrosse and since then, it’s been football and lacrosse,” explains Mack. However, this was not the only challenge that he had to face. Mack, like many other high-level athletes, struggled with his confidence. After some time with training and therapy, he became not only a better athlete, but a more confident person. Many people struggle with balancing two varsity sports in the same year, but, for Mack, the similarities in how you prepare for lacrosse and football made the process easier, as speed and agility are both main contributors in each sport. Behind the scenes, Mack has committed to a lot of strength training to reach his current level. He has undoubtedly worked hard to excel in two sports and reach the collegiate level for lacrosse.
Bailey, Gray, and Mack, although they each have had different paths and are committed to different sports, are perfect examples of what hard work and dedication brings. Boise State University, the University of Rochester, and Gettysburg College will have the honor to watch them develop as athletes throughout their journey into the next level of
athletics.
