University of Maryland '98 - Women's Lacrosse

From a very young age I knew I loved sports and had the killer instinct.  I got involved in playing AAU club basketball at a very young age and traveled and played basketball all year round.  When I was in about second grade I decided to pick up soccer as well, within a few years I was playing soccer all year round on club teams.  Then in third grade this new sport was presented to me called lacrosse.  I really wasn’t that interested in it but all my friends from the neighborhood were going to try it so I figured why not. 

Lacrosse was the only sport out of the three sports that was only in the spring.  I didn’t have to play it all year round to be considered dedicated to it so it definitely took a back seat to my other sports. I remember in sixth grade missing lacrosse practice in lacrosse season to go to basketball and soccer practice which were out of season.  I also remember going to lacrosse, leaving early to go to soccer and then heading to basketball practice.  I was getting warn out to say the least.

By the time I reached high school I had developed a love for lacrosse.  Lacrosse is an athletic sport; if you are a great athlete you can be successful.  I was able to incorporate all the things I had learned over the years from playing such ridiculous amounts of basketball and soccer into lacrosse. 

When I reached freshman year in high school I did play basketball, soccer, and lacrosse.  As a freshman I was on junior varsity for basketball and soccer, but shockingly made the varsity lacrosse team at St.Mary’s in Annapolis!  Believe me this was a big deal, it was almost unheard of to make varsity as a freshman.  You were lucky to make junior varsity as a freshman.   It was then I realized that lacrosse was my sport. I wasn’t burned out on it like the other sports that I had played for years all year round.  More exciting then just making the lacrosse team, I started as a freshman and continued to start for four more years. By my sophomore year I quit basketball, continued to play soccer for one more year on the varsity team and my junior year quit soccer too. I picked up volleyball for fun and just continued with my lacrosse career.  I had no idea the opportunities that were in store for me, when back in third grade, but I sure am happy I decided to give lacrosse a shot.

The recruiting process was exciting.  I received tons of letters from schools all over the country.  I had no idea that all these schools were interested in me or even knew about me.  It did start to become a little overwhelming sifting through all the mail and all the weekly phone calls. In the summer before my senior year I decided to take some road trips and set up some unofficial visits to colleges and meet with coaches so I could downsize my huge list of choices. That was very helpful to me because there were quite a few schools that once I saw the campus or met the coach I knew I didn’t want to attend. It wasn’t easy but I came to my conclusion about the five schools I was going to visit.  I went to the University of Maryland, the University of Virginia, Georgetown University, Loyola College, and Vanderbilt University. 

In the fall of my senior year I went on paid official visits to my top five schools and spent a weekend with the team in order to get to know them and meet with the coach.  It was amazing!  I had so much fun on all of these visits and it was great to spend time with the players and coaches.  I had such a hard time making my decision though. 

In retrospect, I always knew I was going to be a Terp!  I loved the University of Maryland, there style of play and the team.  I didn’t come by this decision easily though and really agonized over the whole thing.  This is such an exciting time in your life but it’s also a very tough time in your life.  You’ll figure it out so be patient and open.

My Advice:

• If you decided you didn’t want to play anymore would you still want to be at this school? 

• Look at teams and the way they practice along with their style of play. Think about whether or not you like their style or if you could adapt to it.  A lot of people don’t think about this, but a sport takes up a lot of your time and will be a big part of your college life so you want to enjoy it.  You want to have fun with it!  I know I did.

Once a Terp always a Terp!

Kate Robinson

For more information check out the Active Recruiting 101 special section.