The National Letter of Intent is a binding agreement between an athlete and a university or college. It puts into writing that the student athlete will play at that university, and that the university will provide scholarship money for the student. This year, two Prospect varsity athletes signed the National Letter of Intent. Kelly Kavanagh will be playing golf at Drake University, a Divison I school, and Grace Cacini will be playing volleyball at Adelphi University, a Divison II school. We sat down for a Q&A with both of the athletes.
Kelly Kavanagh
When did playing golf in college become a dream of yours?
8th grade [year] I quit soccer. Then after freshman year I set my goal on playing [NCAA Division I].
How did you choose Drake University over other options?
I wanted to go to a small school that had less than 10,000 students. I also wanted to be within driving distance [of home].
What part of your game do you think you had to work on and improve the most to be ready to play at the next level?
Freshman year my putting was really bad and after I got that figured out it helped my scores significantly.
What did it feel like to sign the National Letter of Intent and make it official?
It was a nice weight off my shoulders because I had been thinking about it for five months now.
What are your goals for the rest of your athletic career?
Hopefully when I’m at Drake [University] we can win conference. They’ve been coming in second and third for a while now, so winning conference would probably be our biggest goal as a team.
Grace Cacini
When did playing college sports become a goal of yours?
Probably my sophomore year. I took it more seriously and focused more on volleyball. Freshman year I stopped playing basketball and then I focused in more sophomore and junior year where the recruiting process was such a big deal.
How did you choose Adelphi University over other options?
When I went and visited and did a camp with their players I fell in love with the atmosphere and culture the coach created. Then after that, we got a tour of the campus and it really fit what I see and I want in a college. It’s smaller and in a compact area, but there’s still about 5,000 kids. Being on a team I’ll definitely have people to do things with and at the same time have small classes.
What part of your game do you think you had to work on and improve the most to be ready to play at the next level?
Changing my approach and getting more power in my approach has been my biggest transition, really getting my arms into everything so I can have the most powerful hit. Passing has always been a little struggle for me so [working on that] has really helped.
What did it feel like to sign the National Letter of Intent and make it official?
It definitely was exciting to make everything official and put it into writing. [I was] definitely excited and very happy.
What are your goals for the rest of your athletic career?
Choosing Adelphi [University] was big because it was a program I hope to make a big impact for. I’m not someone who wants to sit my first two years and not play until my junior or senior year. I definitely want to step on and work for a starting spot my freshman year.