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Thanks to Dexter’s success in sports, there are a handful of athletes committed to bring
Dexter to big colleges as they continue playing the sport they are passionate about
WRITTEN BY JUAN MORALES-LEVERETT AND ELISABETH TRINKLE
“My decision came down to who I wanted to be in the future. I wanted to carve my own path along with challenge myself on the field and in the classroom,” junior soccer player Bella Gaetino said.
Gaetino announced her commitment to the University of North Carolina publicly through Instagram on September 19, 2022. Although Gaetino told us she had multiple offers from schools that she also met the academic requirements at, she says:
“I connected the most with the coaches at North Carolina and felt that they were willing to invest their time and effort into developing me into a better person and player.”
Her deciding factor between the different schools was the programs themselves; North Carolina seemed like the perfect fit. Gaetino’s older sister Eva plays soccer at Notre Dame, and “there’s a chance that I’ll get to play my sister at Notre Dame, which is very exciting,” she said. The place Gaetino is most excited to travel to is back home and places near.
“We’re going to travel to Notre Dame and either Michigan or Michigan State, which is super exciting because it won’t be hard for my family to get to my games,” Gaetino said.
Overall, Gaetino explained her process as overwhelming and daunting, but amazing.
“I’m so thankful for all of the coaches who had so much support and interest in me,”she said.
What she learned throughout the process that she didn’t know before is how important the team environment is.
Alongside Gaetino, senior football player Brennan Parachek, is committed to play at Michigan State University. For Parachek, the decision was not only based on athletics, but also academics.
“It felt great to be recruited by different schools because it was always a dream of mine to play college football,” Parachek said.
He found the decision hard to make as wherever you end up is 4-5 years of your life and plays a role in your future afterward.
“I made my decision so early because I knew from the beginning Michigan State is where I wanted to be, so I would say how fast my process was is pretty unique,” he said. Along with his process being fast and early, “My deciding factor was I wanted to stay close to home and I wanted to find a place that believed in me.”
While playing football at Michigan State, players get to travel to many different and new states to play. Where is Parachek most excited to play?
“Probably Penn State because their fans are crazy and I think their stadium is super impressive,” he said.
During Parachek’s recruitment process there was one major thing he learned that he didn’t know before hand and something he believes all potential recruits should know.
“Don’t trust everyone because not every school or coach has your best interest in mind,” he said.
