Senior Lizzie Thornton committed to Wake Forest University to continue her athletic career as a soccer goalie and further her academics.
Thornton began playing when she was 3 years old, and has been playing ever since.
It was only in middle school when she started seeing people in her club getting recruited.
“I’ve always played this sport because I loved it. It wasn’t until the people around me started talking about playing in college that I realized I wanted to as well,” Thornton said.
Having a person who supports you in sports is crucial to every athlete. For Thornton, her dad was the person who lifted her up and gave her advice when she needed it.
“My dad is always there to tell me how I can improve, but also to tell me I had a great game. He always pushes me to do my best.”
Being an athlete means experiencing both ups and downs in a sport. Thornton shares highlights and lowlights from her athletic career.
“The best part is getting to play such a competitive game that I love, getting to play with my friends, just testing my limits, and seeing how hard I can play against top competitors,” Thornton said, “And then the worst part would probably be that it can be really stressful at times and really frustrating. Like when you’re losing or when you’re not having a good game.”
When asked what she was looking for in a college, Thornton says she was very open to different options, but specifically she was looking for high academics and a high level athletic program.
“I was super open because I didn’t really know what I wanted yet. I think my main factor was just a place where I felt like I could belong and just a place where I felt like I could play really high level soccer. And originally, like ACC was my dream conference. So it’s nice that worked out.”
Many challenges can arise during the recruitment process. For Thornton, being underprepared had a major impact on her.
“I was really underprepared to talk to so many coaches and then to have to tell them I wasn’t going to their school.” Thornton said. “I wish I was more confident in myself that I would have more options than I would, because I was way underprepared to make as many decisions.”
Advice Thornton would give to current athletes is to be patient and don’t settle without being certain while also asking questions to current athletes at that college.
“It’s really an exciting process and you can get ahead of yourself and just want to go ahead and commit, but it’s really important that you stay patient and look at all your options. ”
