Two Class of 2022 student athletes from Coronado High School were recognized on Monday as Scholar Athletes of the Year from The High School Sports Association of San Diego (HSSA). The breakfast event was held at the Scottish Rite Center in Mission Valley and recognized one girl and one boy from each school in the San Diego County area as the Scholar Athletes of the Year.
The two selected from Coronado High School were:
- Michelle Croteau (GPA 4.31; Sports: Water polo and Swim; College: University of California at Berkeley; Berkeley Women’s Water polo)
- Jack Hunt (GPA 4.39; Sports: Soccer; College: Princeton University; Princeton Men’s Soccer Team)
Hear from the student-athletes about their achievements and plans:
Michelle Croteau
List the Varsity sports you played and the number of years you participated in each.
I have been swimming for about 10 years and have played water polo for six. I played two sports, water polo and swim team, for all four years of high school, as a varsity starting player in both. I’ve accumulated a total of eight career varsity letters.
List any Team, League, CIF or National Awards, include team championships as well.
- Coaches award (’20-’21)
- MVP and Captain (’20-’21)
- MVP and Captain (’21-’22)
- DII State Champ Runners Up (2018-’19)
- GPA Captain (’21-’22)
- All-CIF 1st Team (2021)
- All-CIF 2nd Team (2022)
- DI Champion CIF (2022)
- San Diego Union Tribune Athlete of the Week (2022)
- CIF Sportsmanship Award (2022)
- PSW Zone Team (2019 & 2020)
- Cadet National Team (USAWP) (2019)
What was your most memorable moment (s) in High School Athletics (besides winning a championship/title)?
My most memorable moments of high school athletics were when I stopped to look around me. When I stopped to look around I saw and felt the emotions of losing my first and last CIF semi-final game with my sister. I saw the sarcastic pain in my teammates’ eyes at morning practice and the glee we’d have at hotel breakfasts. I would say my most memorable moment in high school athletics was when I realized that my water polo team was my family because we shared so many memorable moments.
What would you say is the most important thing you got from playing sports in high school?
The most important thing I got from playing sports in high school is selflessness. Playing on teams makes you want to be better for your own self to be the best you can be so that you don’t let your team down. Sports teach you to be driven, dependable, and collaborative, which are crucial traits in developing as an athlete and a person.
What are your plans for next year? Do they include athletics?
Next year I plan on attending UC Berkeley to study political science and legal studies with a minor in rhetoric. I may play water polo.
What are your vocational plans (what do you want to be when you grow up)? The all out pipe dream is to be a justice on the supreme court, which means my current vocational plans are to become a judge on the DC circuit court of appeals to work and possibly achieve my end game.
Jack Hunt
List the Varsity sports you played and the number of years you participated in each.
• CHS Varsity Soccer
List any Team, League, CIF or National Awards, include team championships as well.
CHS Achievements
• Recognized by HSSA (High School Sports Association San Diego) as Scholar Athlete of the Year Class of 2022 for CHS
• Team Captain for CHS Varsity Soccer team 2019-2020 and 2021-2022*
*Undefeated season – first in CHS history. CIF Open Division Finalist
• 2nd Team All CIF – CHS Varsity Soccer 2021-2022
• Leadership Award – CHS Varsity Soccer 2021-2022
• 1st Team All League – CHS Varsity Soccer 2019-2020
• 4.39 GPA
Club Achievements
• Team Captain for 4 years (2018-2022) of Albion SC San Diego MLS Next 04 Club Soccer team
• Captained Albion team to the #2 Seed in MLS National Playoffs
• Scouted and Selected to be a part of the Capelli Sport USA U19 Team traveling to Koge, Denmark to compete at the Capelli Sport Cup against other professional academy teams from other countries. 2021
• Capelli Sport Cup Finalists 2021
• MLS Next U17 Southwest Conference Champions – Undefeated 2020-2021
• Surf Cup Champions – Best of the Best 2020
• NPL West Champions – Undefeated 2019-2020
• Selected to attend Youth National Talent ID Camp 2019
What was your most memorable moment (s) in High School Athletics (besides winning a championship/title)?
I will never forget the feeling of living in a community where I could ride my bike to and from soccer practice and where I could play with my best friends whom I have grown up with since I was in preschool. I’ll always remember blasting music in the locker room before a game and getting to play under the lights with classmates cheering us on from the student section. I’ll always remember Coach Brooks and getting to celebrate Senior Night with my family and teammates. And I will most definitely never forget the Torrey Pines game we won in the Open Division Playoffs against a team we were never “supposed” to beat but did.
What would you say is the most important thing you got from playing sports in high school?
The most important thing I got from playing high school sports was how to work as a team but be a leader in that environment. I developed so much as a leader from playing high school sports. I also think that it taught me time management and hard work, because it kept me so busy I did not have a lot of free time, which meant I had to be very efficient with my time so I could succeed both in school and in my sport. I also learned to not take life and my sport too seriously. You can give it your all and work as hard as you possibly can but you can still have fun along the way and I always felt I played my best when I was my most relaxed.
What are your plans for next year? Do they include athletics?
I will be attending Princeton University and will be playing for their Men’s Soccer team. I plan to major in Economics and Finance.
What are your vocational plans (what do you want to be when you grow up)?
First, I would love to play professional soccer immediately after college. After that, my goal is to become a real estate developer.
