Did you ever know that HSE has 2 athletes committed to colleges for rowing? This year alone we have seen the most rowers committed to a college at HSE with Ava Olson and Grace Newton. They were originally swimmers and divers here but they both reached out to Indiana Rowing and being the right height and having experience in swimming gave them a new opportunity with Rowing. I talked with Grace about how her process of being recruited to IU for rowing and she told me “it starts with me reaching out to the rowing coach saying that interested in rowing and then we have a couple of phone calls talking about my athletic career and what to expect with rowing. They tend to look for taller athletes with high endurance which was perfect for me because I’ve been running and swimming for years. Then they invite me on an official visit where I get to see all the facilities, meet the team, and see how rowing works! As I said earlier I am a novice (meaning I’ve never rowed before) they’ll teach me how to row when I get there. It was difficult to decide where I wanted to go just because I haven’t rowed before so I don’t know what to expect but I’m really happy with my decision to go to IU.” So with Olsen and Newton being previous Swimmers and Divers, this allowed them to get a new beginning in a sport they never had the opportunity to play but at a Divison 1 level. For our Athletic Department with Coach Self, Coach Habegger, and Mrs. Laux to give the chance for these athletes to be included in our Signing Day without having that sport at HSE. So I met with Coach Self and asked what he thought about the whole process with athletes being included in signing day without having that sports at HSE and he told me “We want everyone to feel included with signing day and we want sports like rowing to be recognized and honored as all athletes at Hamilton Southeastern deserve the same level of recognition”. When you allow showcasing your different athletic abilities in sports it deserves to be seen when meeting with Coach Self he felt the same towards athletes at HSE saying “we should be seen as one and no athlete should shine over another”. Allowing rowers to be included in signing day without it being an IHSAA-approvoed sport, gives a new horizon for all kinds of sports to be recognized here. For instance, our boy’s Volleyball team made it to the State Championship last season but came up short last season they didn’t receive the same level of recognition as said the girl’s team did. That’s nothing towards the girl’s season as they brought home their 1st State Title in program history but we should have the same level of fans and show if the boys manage to excel that far this season. I think it’s time for a new age of athletes to be recognized more having sports like Rowing, Boys Volleyball, Racing, and Field Hockey all sports that the IHSAA has not named to be sports but should be named as sports so they receive the same recognition