Jenny, a soccer player from central Florida, had grown up with hopes and dreams of playing DI soccer- but when an injury sidelined her during peak recruitment season her sophomore year, she thought her dreams had been shattered.

Her parents, extraordinarily supportive and hopeful for their daughter, encouraged her to do rehab, and continue to play the sport she loves, even if it meant going to a DII school, or playing club at nearby UCF.
After months of rehab and an ever-waging mental battle with herself, relating to if she should quit or continue playing soccer, Jenny decided to come back for her junior year and try to make something happen. “I quickly picked up where I left off and was garnering lots of interest from some serious DII schools.”

Jenny states, “I took some visits to the DII schools in the southeast and eventually decided to commit to a school in North Carolina verbally.” Jenny loved the area, the school, and the other girls on the team. She felt that she could really make an impact, and as soon as she set foot on campus, she knew this was her home for the next four years- and it was not too far from home. The school essentially checked all of her boxes- but the same can not be said for her dad.

Her dad felt that she was settling, giving up on her dream, and wasting all of the time and effort that he and her mom put into seeing her off to a DI school, so he emailed other schools about his daughter. He was trying to be supportive – no parent ever wants to feel like their child is settling – but his actions ended up messing with her scholarship. Some of the coaches he emailed knew the coach Jenny committed to playing for, so they notified the coach about the emails that the dad had sent.

The coach contacted Jenny and rescinded her offer, all because of what her dad did behind her back. Because of her dad, Jenny was left back at square one and had to start the recruiting process all over again, with a red warning sign on her back from what her dad did. No college coach wants to deal with an athlete that has overbearing parents, and Jenny had been lumped into that category.

After a few months making cold calls, and sending out her highlight video, a smaller DII school in West Florida offered her scholarship- though it was a significantly lower amount than the previous school, Jenny felt like it was her best offer and agreed to it.

“I not only had to overcome a severe injury that could have completely prevented me from playing college soccer, but I to overcome an overbearing dad as well – and thankfully, I did both. I am enjoying being a student-athlete close to home and in the Florida sun.”

* Originally published on December 26, 2018, by Leighton Yenor