Hundreds of teen athletes wonder whether or not they have what it takes to play at the next level. Fortunately, PDS is composed of a variety of students from all backgrounds and paths of life, especially the amazing athletes who committed themselves to sports and have what it takes to sign on to a Division 1 program. All great journeys have a catalyst, a spark that lights the flame inside the person to go beyond what they thought was possible. For many of the peers, all of them agreed that a positive environment contributed to reaching the D1 level. Senior Emily McCann notes how many coaches, such as Coach Devlin and Coach Woodside, as well as her family, her father and her sister, all contributed to her journey. Senior Adriana Salzano made going D1 her own personal endeavor as she wanted to be the first in her family to achieve this honor.

When asked the question of what made him stand out from the rest, Senior Sebastian Rzeczycki recounts how Coach Higgins introduced him to lacrosse and drove him to be the player he is today. McCann tells how many people in her life impacted her decision to noted that it was the love for her sport that propelled her past her competition, Salzano noticed the mental grit and constant seeking of perfection that allowed her to push past her opponents, and finally Rzeczycki saw how staying consistent and just playing the sport as much as he could enabled him to attain his goals. PDS is known to boast tough and time-consuming courses, so commitment to a sport can get very challenging at times when balancing this hard homework. For some the shift wasn’t so sudden, as Rzeczycki notes how he had developed such a consistent routine in high school there really was no major shift. Others talk about the importance of certain habits, Emily talks on the importance of developing and maintaining a routine and Adriana speaks on the importance of time budgeting. It is not hard to see sacrifices they have all made, and as a result they have achieved.