The college recruitment process can be a very exciting time for many of the student athletes at Berkeley. Student athletes have a number of different options to gain exposure, which range from submitting highlight videos, attending camps, or getting recommendations from coaches.

Senior and crew team captain Alex Hill was recently accepted to the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy is an exceptional college and Hill reached his ultimate goal through his dedication to his sport and a strong education.  The military schools, which include the Naval Academy as well as four other service academies, create a difficult admissions process by requiring high academic standards and an interview with two Florida congressmen. However, the service academies’ appeal is powerful today because of the free education and the ability to serve the United States.  Hill described the college recruitment process as “quite enjoyable. I emailed the head lightweight coach and told him that I was very interested in the rowing program at Navy. I also sent the coach my statistics like my GPA, 2k erg score and other key statistics.”  For rowers, a strong 2k, which is a 2,000 meter test on the ergometer (an indoor rowing simulator) is essential to be taken seriously by a college.

“After talking to the coach, I visited the campus and toured the boathouse. At that point, I loved Navy, wanted to serve my country, and as long as I got in, I was 100 percent willing to go there, and thankfully I did,” Hill said.

Brad Mayes ’15, the Berkeley football team’s starting quarterback, is currently going through the college recruitment process in his junior year.  Mayes just finished his second year as a starting quarterback and is looking to improve his game to cap off his high school career with a strong final fall season. Not only is Mayes striving to improve his skills for the Bucs, but he also wants to take his game to the next level.  When asked about the college recruitment process, Mayes replied that he “loves the entire process” and that he feels “truly honored to be given the talents and opportunities to be looked at by many different colleges.”  Currently, colleges like “The University of Central Florida, The University of South Florida, The University of Florida, South Carolina, Iowa and Penn State” have expressed interest in Mayes.  Out of the three Florida schools on Mayes’ list, the one that jumps out right now is Central Florida, which is coming off the shocking bowl win against a much higher ranked Baylor team.

To gain exposure to colleges for recruitment, Mayes attended the Under Armour Combine with 150 other players from around the nation. “That was an awesome experience, competing against the best of the best from around the country.”  The Under Armour All-American game was played at Tropicana Field [in St. Petersburg] and featured the top players in the nation.  Mayes will continue to strive to be the best quarterback he can be and achieve his dreams of one day playing college football.

Similarly, Jared Shimberg ’14 committed to Brown University earlier this winter. “I mostly gained exposure by sending out my highlight videos to coaches and having [head varsity football coach] Coach Ciao call them on my behalf,” he said.  Although Shimberg attended a couple of camps to showcase his fundamentals, highlights and recommendations were still his primary source of exposure.

Similarly, student athletes, including Shimberg, can be invited to college campuses for formal visits. “I took an official recruiting trip up to Brown and absolutely loved it up there. I had already had Brown on my list of schools so when they offered me a spot on the team, I took a few days to think about it and ultimately decided it was the right place for me,” Shimberg said.

Shimberg, along with Hill and Mayes, all started the recruitment process by conducting research to make their college lists. From there, Shimberg says, “It’s all about seeing where you best fit.”