Many high school athletes make the decision to not continue playing sports in college. There can be many reasons behind choosing to end an athletic career, and there are many students at CWU who have made that choice. 

Sophomore mathematics education major Alise Rohr played volleyball, basketball, fastpitch and track and field during her time at South Bend High School. She said that being able to control her schedule was a factor in not continuing sports. 

“I didn’t want to be tied down, or have any serious commitments when I was moving away from home,” Rohr said. 

Rohr said she never planned on continuing sports into college and doesn’t have any regrets about it. 

“I don’t regret not doing sports because I like where my life is now,” Rohr said. “If I did sports I don’t know that I would have become friends with the people who I am friends with, who knows if I would have even met them.” 

Now that Rohr is no longer a competing athlete she spends her time working, spending time with her friends and being outdoors around Ellensburg. 

Other students may have wished to continue their athletic career in college, but circumstances wouldn’t allow them to do so. 

Sophomore criminal justice major Sidney Schmidt said she had originally planned to play sports in college. Schmidt played both soccer and softball in high school and was on track to play softball at CWU. However, playing in high school was a rocky experience for her. 

“My experience was that if you didn’t give a name, then no one would care about you,” Schmidt said “No one would give you a chance unless you had a name and money.” 

Ultimately, she decided not to continue her athletic career in college. She said she wanted to be able to experience the childhood she would have experienced without playing sports. However, she does have some regret with that decision. 

“A part of me misses it a lot. It was a big stress relief,” Schmidt said. “It was a way for me to deal with my mental health and mental illness struggles appropriately without harming myself.” 

Both Rohr and Schmidt agreed that just because sports are what’s expected of a person, that doesn’t mean that it’s right for them. Both encouraged for athletes to do what they want and what one believes is best for themselves.