Congratulations to Kaitlyn for her college choice and good luck in the future!   Name Kaitlyn Michaud High School St Thomas Aquinas Graduation Year 2020 College Choice Elon University Club Affiliations Florida Select     Why did you choose this college? Injuring my ACL in May gave me a whole new perspective about the game and really my life up to that point. From a recruitment standpoint, it could not have happened at a worse time, the summer was going to be my biggest time for recruitment. It was a really big blow, then we turned it into probably the best thing that has happened to me. I’ve had a lot of time to focus specifically on me, my game, my physical development and what I wanted out of a College experience. Elon and Coach Hexter checked every single box. It was really powerful for me to have such a seasoned coach see through the injury, it showed me a lot about him and his program. It is really a dream for me to attend this school, and I honored. What are your first memories of the sport? My first memories playing this game go back to Coach Rob Wurzburger and the Delray Beach Riptide. We had so much fun, it puts a big smile on my face just thinking about it. I fell in love with the game immediately and while I loved playing basketball and volleyball, lacrosse became my passion. Coach McClain picked up where rec left off and I have had the privilege of play with a great team, great coaches and we had some awesome times traveling all over to play some top-notch teams. Playing for Coach Skonieczki on the US LACROSSE Team and now at St Thomas Aquinas is awesome and I hope to be back on the field sometime soon playing for him this season. 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? It was truly overwhelming and a massive roller coaster of emotions. From my experience, it was very hard to not take it personally. Pre Injury it felt like there was a recruiting “Buzz”, post-injury there were crickets or worse, silence. I realize the next level is very much a business and my family said that I should not take getting looked over due to injury personally. My advice would be to keep your head down, work hard, don’t get distracted and there will be bumps along the road. You should choose the school, don’t let the school choose you, Elon had been on our radar since freshman year. It took a lot of persistence to catch their attention. I told Coach Hexter that I am still taking it personally and look forward to matching up against those schools wearing an Elon uniform. Who would you like to thank for helping you get here? I could never have done it without my mom basically putting her life on hold for so many years and driving me to every game, practice & tournament etc. I could never thank her enough. My father, my brother, and my sister are my rock. I really love the downtime we have spent together recently, playing in a park close to our home, just playing backyard lacrosse. I make my sister come to rehab with me when she can, to keep me company and I know she loves it (LOL). I could never thank ALL of my teammates enough, they are the reason why I got an opportunity to play at the next level. We bang hard in practice and then we come together on the field and do everything we can to win as a team. Lastly all of my coaches from Rec. Travel and Highschool, they have all brought amazing pieces to my game and have given me the passion to play. Coach McClain really went to work for me when I went down, keep me relevant and on the recruiting stage, this would not have happened without him. Lastly, I would like to thank Coach Hexter for having the vision and understanding of the player I am and will be for him at Elon, it took a lot of GUTS. I will always remember and be grateful for the opportunity to prove injuries do not define athletes, its how you come back from an injury that will define you.