With the 2023/2024 school year coming to a close, BHS seniors are making a lot of big decisions about their futures. For some, this means committing to a college or university, attending trade school, or entering the workforce. For athletes wanting to continue their athletic career by playing in college, this means getting recruited by a university to participate on one of their teams. Recently, two captains of Berkley’s Varsity Girls’ Soccer team have committed to playing collegiate-level soccer next year in Michigan: Senior Maeve Nolan committed to Kalamazoo College and Senior Madeline Welsh committed to Albion College. What follows are interviews from Nolan and Welsh about their thoughts on the recruitment process, playing soccer at a high level, and making the transition from high school to college.
After committing to Kalamazoo College for soccer, Maeve Nolan reflects on the recruitment process and describes it as “hectic”. Nolan shares that in order to get recruited she had to “make a highlight video, set up social media accounts, and email lots of coaches demonstrating interest.” Madeline Welsh also shares her experience on getting recruited, including how her ACL injury and team’s status impacted the process. She says “the recruitment process was hard and entirely impossible my first two years of high school because I was playing on a team that didn’t get a lot of press, and I was also recovering from my ACL surgery which set me back from my peers. After I made one of the best regional teams in the country my junior year, my opportunities skyrocketed, and I was able to get more views from the colleges I dreamed of playing for. The recruitment process took a long time, especially waiting for the offers to come in, but when they did it seemed that committing to a single college was the hardest part. All my other offers ranged from D1-NAIA schools, but in order to decide I had to think about what was best for me academically and athletically.” Nolan also shares that what helped her decide on which college was the best fit was “talking to coaches and visiting the campuses.”
Beyond the unique recruitment process for athletes, Nolan and Welsh also share their experiences playing soccer at different levels. Nolan says, “I have been playing soccer since I was three years old, and started playing club soccer when I was eight for SOCS which then merged with DCFC. I play attacking center mid and am currently Captain of the Girls Varsity Soccer Team.” Welsh has similar experiences and says, “I have played soccer for as long as I can remember. I played on a lot of recreation teams growing up when my dad was my coach, and I decided to start playing travel soccer when I was in 6th grade to play on harder teams but also to play with my friends! I’ve always played goalie because from a young age I realized my natural reflexes were unlike other kids my age and playing in goal was something I really enjoyed. I played for SOCS/DCFC from 6th-10th grade then started playing for the Liverpool ECNL teams my Junior and Senior year. I am now a Captain on the Girls Varsity Soccer Team and have been on Varsity for the past three years.” Both Nolan and Welsh have devoted a lot of time and energy to soccer, and playing in college will serve as an amazing opportunity for them to continue their athletic endeavors.
Despite graduation being just around the corner, Nolan and Welsh’s work isn’t over yet. Both players will continue to train in preparation for playing soccer at a higher level. Nolan says that during the summer she will “attend soccer camp and try to join a summer league team.” Welsh also shares that in order to be ready to play in the fall she will keep up with her fitness, saying, “I will do fitness tests every week to train myself in order to pass them when the time comes.” The dedication that Welsh and Nolan put into preparing for a new season demonstrates the intense nature of college level sports.
As Madeline Welsh and Maeve Nolan make the transition from Berkley’s Varsity Soccer Team to playing soccer on collegiate teams, Berkley Bears are cheering them on and supporting them every step of the way!