Recruiting story with Shannon Fitzgerald, Northwest Missouri State Bearcats

I sat down with Shannon Fitzgerald last week, following her final college game for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, a 2-1 loss to the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. You may recall the short update I did on Shannon and her teammates in late October

Shannon is a Catholic 2005 graduate who played on 2 State tournament teams for the Irish, and played in 74 games for the Bearcats. She spent five years on campus which included a Redshirt season in 2008 due to injury. Northwest (11-8-1, 7-8-1 MIAA) finished with 11 wins, its most in 11 seasons (program started in 1999) so the program set two records for wins in Shannon’s time with the team.

With the perspective of five years of playing, I asked Shannon to share with the readers what elements she thought were critical for a player who is evaluating programs now. The strongest memory she will carry with her is the team bonding that occurs on the many road trips and time spent practicing. Thus it’s important to meet the team. Just as important, if you don’t like your coach it will be a long four years. Ultimately, picking a school is the critical factor since that’s the only guarantee you’ll have in your career, with injuries, coaching changes and other factors you can’t control. Time flies as I can attest, my first conversation with Shannon occurred the year I started this website. It’s hard to beat the memories you’ll take away from your time in college as you establish yourself as an adult. Take the time to allow yourself to choose well.