Committing to university for sports is a dream for many student-athletes; Maya Zalewski, senior, is making that dream a reality. Zalewski has been playing lacrosse since 6th grade for club and high school. During her junior year, Zalewski gave her verbal commitment to attend DePauw University and play on their women’s lacrosse team.
Even before she received her offer from DePauw University, Zalewski was interested in continuing to play lacrosse post-secondary. She started the commitment process by communicating with college coaches and attending different events to connect with multiple universities.
“I attended a couple of D3 showcases to get some looks out there and also [did] tournaments [where] college coaches [would be] watching [me], especially during my junior year summer, which is when I got connected [with DePauw],” Zalewski said.
With multiple university offers, Zalewski took her time to reflect on each school and find the right fit. This meant taking academics, social life, and location into account. For example, the university’s placement in Indiana appealed to Zalewski, as she looks forward to being close to home and for her parents to easily travel to see her games. In reflecting on her decision process, Zalewski found it was not all it was chalked up to be.
“[Seniors looking into college] shouldn’t stress too much and just kind of feel what’s a good fit for you. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, you know, you’ll know it when you see it’, but no,[…] it’ll be hard to choose between different schools because there’s always gonna be pros and cons to each. Follow your heart and whatever you choose you’re going to be there for the right reason,” Zalewski said.
Greigh Hoeft, girls’ lacrosse coach and Zalewski’s coach at LZHS, also played lacrosse post-secondary on the women’s lacrosse team at Carthage College. Zalewski’s growth from Freshman year to her senior year is shown through her positive character on and off the field.
“[As a freshman] Maya used to be very shy, but on the field, she was a leader. She was never a player we had to worry about saying anything mean or doing anything bad. She always just let her playing speak for itself,” Heoft said. “She’s gotten [the] confidence to be that leader and be more outspoken. She is also so positive and such a good teammate to not only her teammates but other teams, [which is why] she won our NSC Sportsmanship Award a couple years ago.”
Zalewski wanted to find the perfect team that could continue to foster her passion and commitment to lacrosse throughout her college years showing that lacrosse not only develops athletic ability, but also fosters an important environment to teach life lessons that can be applied to future professional careers and goals.
“[Playing lacrosse] is great for making connections, teamwork, building experiences, and camaraderie. I think that it’s really good to be applied to the real world. For example, there’s a lot of similarities between being on a team and working a job. I think it can teach you great life lessons to be on a team,” Zalewski said.
Besides teaching athletes important life lessons, Zalewski and her other teammates act as positive role models to young female athletes. According to Heoft, being on a team teaches athletes to build tolerance for people who may have different perspectives or opinions than you, which is truly emphasized in the family environment LZHS fosters. The girls’ lacrosse team participates in community events throughout their season to help expand the reach of girls’ lacrosse.
“The excitement over the game [motivates me to continue coaching], especially in the Midwest, where [lacrosse is] kind of new to us, and being able to grow the sport’s [reach], but also do it in a positive way,” Heoft said. “Our program [at LZHS] has grown so much since I started here [I enjoy] being a positive role model for young female athletes, but also let them be role models for [the] even younger athletes within our community.”
Another reason for Zalewski’s interest in DePauw was former LZHS student Meredith Buti, who now plays for DePauw’s women’s lacrosse team and acted as a role model for Zalewski and encouraged to play after high school.
“Meredith is a big part of [my reason for committing] because she really encouraged me and talked highly about the school,” Zalewski said. “I met a lot of the other girls on the team [and] they all were super nice and inviting too, [and] I just really love that energy, and I hope to be around people like that when I’m in college.”
Being on a sports team is very time-consuming, Heoft mentions the vital balance a student-athletes must have to continue their athletic career.
“The time balance [is the most challenging part about college sports]. It is a big adjustment from high school. You are not in classes all day long, but you also have to [have] balance. There are usually mandatory weight training sessions usually speed and agility sessions that don’t always fit into the high school athletic schedule,” Heoft said.
Although Zalewski does not plan to break her verbal commitment, doing so is frowned upon and difficult to do. However, she cannot officially commit to DePauw University until spring of 2025. The signing day held at LZHS will be considered to be the official commitment.
“I’m looking forward to being so close with my teammates. [I’ll be] seeing them every single day and I’m probably gonna be living with a teammate. I just feel like it’s gonna be such a tight-knit relationship, and it’s going to be a great experience [to have] in college I think that’s going to be really fun,” Zalewski said.
Heoft explains the tight-knit community she personally experienced during her college years. While in her senior year at Carthage College, Heoft was diagnosed with type one diabetes, and her college athletic department put together a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to support the recent diagnosis.
“They raised a ton of money [and] they had T-shirts made to help support me as an athlete participating in sports with type one diabetes, but also [to support] the greater cause,” Heoft said, “I thought [it] was so cool that we were able to kind of connect with other athletes too and then we realized I was not the only athlete who was competing with [type one diabetes]. There was a boy on the golf team and there was another female on the softball team. We learned so much about other athletes and other programs just based [on] one fundraiser and we were able to kind of run with it and [do] other amazing things.”
Zalewski’s excitement to commit to DePauw is reflected not only through the anticipation of forming close bonds with her future teammates but also in her deep-rooted passion for the sport, which is the reason she decided to play lacrosse post-secondary in the first place.
“[Lacrosse] been a part of my life for so long and I’m just not ready to give that up. I really want to continue my journey,” Zalewski said. “I will probably coach after I’m done with college because I don’t know if it’ll be an easy thing to give up. [After all,] I dedicate so much time to it, so I want to continue that [throughout college and beyond].”
