This is part of a series of interviews Florida Lacrosse News is conducting with recent Florida lacrosse players that have committed to college programs. We bring you these interviews as a way to give you an inside look at how they got to where they are now . . . as well as getting to know them at a personal level! Interview By: Mekenzye Schwab Edited By: Bianca Diaz Hailey Peterson Interview After having such a very successful year, and with Park Vista High School claiming the district title, in the 2013 season, senior goalie, and captain Hailey Peterson, signed with Division II powerhouse Adelphi University. Despite only having played lacrosse four years, Hailey ended her junior year with an impressive 69.7 save percentage and she also managed to earn multiple honors that included making 1st Team All District, and 1st Team All Conference; which is quite an accomplishment in her brief career of playing lacrosse.  With the new upcoming season ahead, Peterson has high hopes for her team to make another run at a district championship and is also looking forward to her future at Adelphi. Name: Hailey Peterson School: Park Vista High School, Senior Position: Goalie #16 Club Team: LaxManiax Why did you choose Adelphi and what other schools did you consider? I really liked the coaches and their lacrosse mentality. When I first spoke to their coach Rob Grella, he was really nice and encouraging. I knew that I definitely wanted to attend college out of the state of Florida, but I wanted to stay on the east coast because that’s where my family is. Once I started talking to the coach I really looked into the school and fell in love I had a lot of offers from other Division I, II and III schools, but I really had my heart set on Adelphi after seeing the campus and getting familiar with the school. What were your favorite, and least favorite parts of the recruiting process? It liked the fact that a lot of colleges were interested in me; that always made me feel really good about myself. I also was thankful for the opportunity to go on a lot of amazing out of state trips to Maryland, and North and South Carolina. I really liked all of the positive attention! What I really didn’t like about the process was the waiting. I was constantly sitting by the phone and worrying about missing important calls from coaches. Coaches would also come down to watch me play and say that “you’re not what we’re looking for”. That was kind of disappointing, but it was the waiting that mostly bothered me. If you could give upcoming recruits any kind of advice, what would it be? I would have to say, not limit your options. I was told by some recently recruited players to only email my top 5-10 schools. I watched friends do that, and the schools ended up not needing or wanting a goalie. It ended up not working out for those players and they were left with no options. I ended up emailing every division I and division II school that I was interested in, and had them come watch me play. I really kept my options open and in the end it made me a lot less stressed. When playing at recruiting tournaments, and knowing that coaches are watching, do you tend to get nervous or do you play better? In my first recruiting tournament, I played really badly and I was freaking out because so many important people were watching me. All I could think about were the coaches and that I just wasn’t playing well or to my potential. Then my dad would talk to me and really calm me down. He helped me focus on just playing my game. When I went back out there relaxed, I started having fun. Towards the end, I didn’t even notice the coaches and just enjoyed myself! Do you have any specific pre-game rituals? I always have to warm up and then right before the game starts, I like to hit sticks with all of my defenders. Once I get in goal I hit each post twice then jump twice in the air. People probably don’t even notice, but it is just something I always do routinely. What has been one of your greatest accomplishments as a lacrosse playe Definitely signing and getting a scholarship with Adelphi University. Besides that, being voted JV Captain my sophomore year, Varsity Captain senior year, and MVP freshman, and sophomore years. How do you think your team will perform this year? I think we are going to do really good. I know people were expecting us not to be competitive because we lost a lot of really amazing players last year, but collectively this is the best I’ve ever seen us work as a team!  Once we get all the cobwebs out, I think we are going to do really well; I like how our chances are looking. What are your goals for this season? Obviously I want my team to go to states. But personally, I want to be a good leader and really help my team in achieving our goal of making it to states. I want to tweak the little things and be the best player I can be. There is always room for improvement. Who introduced you to lacrosse and what made you want to pursue a collegiate career? When I first started playing in High School I really wanted to go to an Ivy League school because my grandfather went to one. While speaking with my counselor, they told me to try playing sports. After stumbling upon a girls lacrosse poster and noticing that it said no one gets cut and that was the moment that I knew lacrosse was my sport. I tried it out and it involved a lot of running (which I hate). I ended up choosing the goalie position, and happened to be really good at it. I just had a lot of fun and really loved it, so I decided that I didn’t want to stop after high school. If you could play any other position besides goalie what would it be? Definitely Defense. Favorite meal: Asparagus… I love vegetables Favorite type of music: Country When not playing lacrosse I am: probably reading or horseback riding Favorite TV show: The New Girl Some other profiles we have done include Allie Gershman Dakota Dunmire Hiram Carter Lauren Sherry Anthony Cicio R.J. Garcia