Coronado High School has many talented student athletes, some of whom choose to continue playing sports at the college level, and a select few that make their college sports program commitment early. This year’s National Letter of Intent Signing Day took place on November 11, 2020, and provides the first opportunity for graduating high school seniors to commit to play athletics at college starting in the fall of 2021.
After early recruiting, coach/student-athlete conversations, and campus visits, the athlete may declare a verbal commitment to a college program. These student-athletes will receive a written letter of intent from a specific college on the designated National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Students have seven days to sign and return the letter as a binding commitment to attend that college for at least one year. Their parent or guardian must sign the letter as well. By signing, students are assured financial aid for one year and agree not to participate in any additional college sports recruiting.
San Diego Sports Association typically hosts a signing day event at Petco Park for all San Diego athletes. This year, Coronado’s Islander Sports Foundation (ISF) hosted a Coronado Letter of Intent Signing Day event in the Coronado High School (CHS) Quad. This event was coordinated and managed by CHS Athletic Director Robin Nixon. Part of the CHS Quad was decorated with festive streamers and CHS signage. After a brief introduction, Ms. Nixon recognized the six athletes individually and invited them to come up to the signing table one at a time with their family and sign a mock letter of intent paper.
Participants in this year’s signing event included Teddy Oliver who will play water polo at UC Irvine, Matthew Wastila who will play water polo at UC San Diego, Emmie Muscheck who will play water polo at Long Beach State University, Gracie Gehler who will play soccer at the University of North Dakota, Courtney Williams who will play softball at Missouri Southern State University, and Meghan Thoroman who will play volleyball at Winthrop University.
The November Letter of Intent Signing Day is the first signing event of this school year with a second singing day scheduled for February 2021. Not all colleges participate in the November signing period. The Ivy League, Service Academies, Division III universities and community colleges do not participate in the first letter of intent signing day. Because Ivy League colleges and universities do not offer athletic scholarships, they do not accept letters of intent. The Ivy League has what it refers to as a “likely” letter issued by the college but this does not guarantee admission. In addition, college football has a unique signing schedule with students signing letters of intent starting December 16, 2020.
In a typical year, Coronado High School has around 15-25 graduating student-athletes that go on to compete at the collegiate level. This year, only 6 student-athletes have committed so far. However, Ms. Nixon expects that between now and next summer other CHS student-athletes will make the decision to compete for their future college teams. These student athletes may become scholarship athletes or simply walk on and try out for their future teams.
The 2020-2021 sports season for the San Diego CIF Conference is tentatively scheduled to begin December 12, 2020, which would allow Coronado fans to cheer for these talented student-athletes on their home turf before they graduate and compete for their college teams.
