According to USA Today, Cardinal Gibbons High School is the 14th-best high school for student-athletes in the country. With this comes a large amount of student-athletes who go on to compete in college.
The Gibbons Globe sends out a questionnaire to our school’s commits to ask about their experience finding the right school and their recruiting process overall.
Maddie Pennisi
Class of 2025 | Field Hockey | Catholic University
Maddie Pennisi is a senior on the field hockey team. Pennisi is committed to further her academic and athletic careers at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Pennisi has been a part of two state championship winning teams during her time at Gibbons.
“I visited the school before because my cousin went there and I really liked the campus and being in the city of DC, and when I started getting recruited they always reached out to me and I really liked the coach,” Pennisi said in a written response.
Pennisi’s most important things she looked for when choosing Catholic University were the academics of the school and the coaching of the team. The most important thing that Pennisi said she found helpful during her recruiting process was “I needed to pick the school based on the school and not just the sport which helped me pick Catholic, I shouldn’t just focus on the sport because if I get injured then I will still be there.”
During any college prospect’s recruitment process, it is very likely that you will go to camps and visit schools, for many this can be their favorite part of it. This ended up being Pennisi’s favorite part as well. Pennisi’s advice to current student-athletes is, “Don’t worry about what other people are saying because every person has a different process and there is a different school for each person so don’t let their thoughts influence your decision. Also keep reaching out to coaches no matter what – there always may be a new spot opening up if you really want it and don’t worry about the coaches watching you during a game that will only stress you out more.”
Committing to college is always a learning experience for everyone, Pennisi says that her commitment has better prepared her for the future,[because] “I am excited to go and don’t have to worry about other college applications. It also showed me that I can make the decision without caring what other people think.” Pennisi looks forward to playing all four years of college and having fun, also winning and becoming close with her teammates. Good Luck Maddie!
