Congratulations to Carly on her college choice and good luck in the future!   Name Carly Bitner High School Hagerty High School Graduation Year 2022 College Choice St Leo University Club Affiliations Beast lacrosse club Why did you choose this college? The main reason I choose St Leo was because I love how tight the community is. It is a smaller school which means that as a student and athlete you get to have close relationships with your teachers, teammates and fellow students. That aspect of the school was really appealing and made me feel like St Leo was my home for the next 4 years. What are your first memories of the sport? My first memories of playing lacrosse was when I was in middle school, having my Saturday morning games. I used to play on this huge turf field at Lake Highland Prep and I would always get so nervous right before the game would start. But the minute I started playing I wouldn’t want to get taken off the field. What part of the process was most surprising to you about the recruiting process and what would you like to pass on to those who are going to face it in the future? I was surprised how little these big tournaments did for recruiting. When I went to them they did not get me much looks so I was kinda discouraged for a bit. Something to pass onto others who want to go through recruiting process is you need to be annoying. And I know that sounds strange but what I mean is you need to constantly be contacting the coaches you’re interested in no matter if you get a response or not. Go to prospect camps, anything you can do to get the coach to remember you. Who would you like to thank for helping you get here? I would like to thank my parents for taking me to early games and staying in hotels with me. Thank my coaches for constantly pushing me to be the best I could. And of course my teammates, we have all cried together, yelled and laughed. But on and off the field they were always there for me.