Something neat happened this week. Something neat happens most weeks, but because this involved high school students, we found it especially noteworthy. Wednesday was National Signing Day—the first day a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent to play for a college that is part of the NCAA. Here in Greenwich, we had five seniors declare, which is impressive. Four are from Greenwich High School and one is from Sacred Heart. Every year we seem to have student athletes sign, so this is not an unusual occurrence. What struck us was that all were humble about their accomplishments.
GHS soccer standouts Emmet Witmer and Nick Bartels will be bringing their talents to Bucknell University and Columbia University, respectively. Scooter Harrington, a GHS footballer, will be heading west to play for Stanford. Sacred Heart’s Tracy Hagan will be playing Division One women’s soccer for Davidson College. GHS athlete Mary Glynn will continue her winning streak by bringing her tennis prowess to Sacred Hart University. Sportswriter Heywood Hale Broun once said, “Sports do not build character, they reveal it,” and that is certainly the case here.
Each has many accomplishments to be proud of. Emmet has played on the GHS soccer team that has been a part of three FCIAC finals, one of which they won. Bartels was selected as one of the top 40 high school soccer players in the country. Harrington played in the Under Armour High School All-American Game. Hagen was the co-captain of her team and was selected to play in the 2015 Connecticut Senior Soccer Bowl. Glynn was named to All-FCIAC West Singles Team in 2015 and played for USTA Greenwich Racquet Club team, where she was ranked No. 1 in singles. All should be congratulated for what they have done on and off the field.
An interesting note, and a shout-out: Three of the GHS athletes, Witmer, Bartels and Harrington, consider themselves best friends. All began their athletic careers by participating in Greenwich Parks & Rec programs. As Nick so enthusiastically stated, “It’s great to be signing with two of my best friends, Scooter and Emmett. They are literally my two best friends and we hang out outside of school a lot. We all played on the same rec youth basketball team together for five years when we were kids. It’s really special and we’re all excited to take our athletic careers to the next level.” That’s a real hat tip to our Parks & Rec department and the many fine programs they offer. Thank you, Mr. Siciliano.
Of course, these athletes did not earn their worthy successes all on the own. They had family supporting them along the way. Family pride was evident in the high school media center on Wednesday. And that support continues off the field. Applying to college is a stressful process no matter what. Adding to the equation what school you want to play for renders the decision-making process even more challenging. One signer decided only last week where he wanted to go and described the process as “very stressful” and “sometimes overwhelming.” All of our high school seniors, athletes and non-athletes alike, hopefully have a supportive home front that can help them navigate this next chapter in their lives.
Greenwich High School Athletic Director Gus Lindine said it best, and it applies to all the athletes: “We have some great kids that are going on to play collegiately and attend some fine institutions. Congratulations to our student-athletes and moms and dads. We are so pleased that we get to recognize them on this special occasion. We wish them the best of luck and much continued success.”
We echo that sentiment and look forward to hearing about and reporting on their accomplishments in the future.
