Beyond the Bench: How Hadley Hagwell Committed to Herself

Most high school athletes immediately jump into the opportunity to go D1 once they receive an offer from a college. However, Hadley Hagwell, a junior at Eastside Catholic who captains the varsity soccer team, has other plans. Although Hagwell had offers from various schools, some being D1 and D2, she made her final decision to play less competitively, committing to play D3 soccer at the University of Chicago. It would have been easy, like so many before her, to become blinded by D1 and D2 offers, but Hagwell kept her feet on the ground throughout her recruiting process and ultimately committed to knowing herself and trusting her own judgement.

An amazing soccer player and solid center back, Hagwell gives us a look on to why she made her decision and what ultimately influenced it.

Hagwell started her soccer career at just 3 years old and has been playing ever since. She started off in a recreational league, playing with some school friends for sometime, until she decided to move to Crossfire Juniors where she played for 2 years. It was after these few years that she decided to play more competitively for Crossfire Premier, and she has been on that team ever since the third grade.

Playing soccer from such a young age has helped shape Hagwell’s growth both on and off the pitch.

“[Soccer] has had a huge impact on me, and I think it’s also taught me a lot, like you learn what coaching styles you like and whatnot. You grow up with it, so you get better over time. You have challenges, like if you’re not playing as much either and you have to learn how to advocate for yourself which is huge and very scary, but it helps.”

Hagwell has been on the Eastside Catholic Girls Varsity soccer team ever since she was a freshman and became a captain for the team her junior year. Hagwell didn’t step into her leading position right away, though, she had to earn it.

Hagwell says that she experienced some nerves going into her freshman year tryouts. “[The other girls] were tall, and I almost started crying because [the coaches] were telling me to yell at seniors in tryouts, which was terrifying.” As the season started and she played her first few high school games, Hagwell gained confidence and started to become a leader on the pitch. Especially for a freshman, talking and communicating during games is not easy, but Hagwell learned to speak more and give her opinion on what her team needed to do to improve.

Hagwell’s journey thus far has been rewarded by earning D1 and D2 offers from other colleges such as Pepperdine and North Alabama. And while many young athletes would jump at the chance to take either opportunity, Hagwell took a more measured, calculated approach and chose to play D3 at the University of Chicago.

It’s fair to wonder what influenced her decision to play “down” a level.

“I guess I think the biggest thing was academics. That’s been my entire goal and kind of the way my parents raised me was academics come first and athletics second.” Hagwell explains that even though soccer had been a significant part of her life, her main focus has always been education.

Her mother, Ashley Hagwell, echoed Hadley’s sentiments:

“For a parent, the school kind of keeps it just between the athlete and the school, you know, so we weren’t really involved in terms of any of the recruiting.” Mrs. Hagwell said she would give Hadley advice on following up and reaching out to coaches, as well as help with film editing. But as the athlete, Hadley had to take charge and responsibility for her own college process.

Hagwell herself hopes to major in either engineering or physics at the University of Chicago and says that both programs are incredible and have a lot to offer. A benefit of attending the college is that she doesn’t have to choose her major right away, which is helpful for her because she isn’t entirely sure on what she wants to do or be in the future. “At the University of Chicago you can get any major you want. They don’t have a limit or a cap to it. And it’s so much more flexible in terms of what you can do.”

Once Hagwell visited the campus, she knew that was where she was meant to be. She had wanted to attend a school near the East coast, and she didn’t want a college that was extremely small. “I also didn’t really want the heat of California, and I wanted to experience the seasons.” Her parents both lived in New York for some time, and her dad is from Chicago. She says that over time they had adapted her to it and she eventually grew fond of it. “It’s kind of the vibe I wanted. It felt like a very safe campus.” As she spent some of last summer at ID camps in Boston, she found she overall loved the city life.

Hagwell was impressed with the coaches and environment of the University. She said it was very welcoming and the coaches are very focused on who you are as a person and how hard you are willing to work.

Mrs. Hagwell was too impressed with the coaches at the University of Chicago. “When we met with her [the coach], everything she spoke about seemed, you know, good. Positive in terms of the team culture, in terms of things she does to help the girls bond together.” She found it helpful that the coach has been there for 30 years and has good connections with past players and alumni that could eventually come in use for Hagwell.

Hagwell expressed her gratitude for all the opportunities she got from other schools. “It’s like, incredible. And you feel so grateful, obviously, and you’re like ‘Oh my God, this is actually happening to me!'”

She received an offer from the University of Pepperdine, but the school doesn’t offer engineering, and she didn’t want to attend college in California. She even had talks with coaches from Cal Tech and MIT, but they don’t provide early decision there.

“With those especially it is so much more difficult and you have to skip out on an offer like for an early decision. It’s more up in the air.” The University of Chicago offered her everything she had wanted and had incredible academics that stood out to her. For Hagwell, her choice to commit there felt like an easy and obvious decision.

When asked about the commitment process as a junior, Hagwell responded “I don’t want to say it’s a burden, but it’s just kind of mentally draining. It’s just always in the back of your head, like when you’re going to school, when you’re going on all these trips you’re thinking about soccer in the back of your mind.”

As an athlete, you really have to put yourself out there and advocate for yourself. She felt great amounts of stress and pressure having to call and email coaches as well as comparing herself to her teammates. “You feel pressure when you see your teammates commit and you’re like, oh my god, why am I not? Or like some people get all these offers and you’re like, why am I not getting this?” Hagwell didn’t have a specific time she wanted to commit, she would have been fine committing anytime during her last years of high school, but she admits that committing as a junior has a relieving effect to it. “Knowing that I’m going, it just takes so much stress away let me tell you that.” There is a lot of pressure and doubt in an athletes mind during the committing process, but Hagwell managed to pull through with her hard work and determination.

Hagwell said the Chicago coaches came down for her showcase in Dallas and watched her play. “It was a big game, so many people were there and I actually had a really good game.” She reached out to the head coach afterwards and said the response she got was very positive. They met up and Hagwell was immediately impressed with her coaching style and the way she cultured the team. “She cares more about who you are as a person, like she would ask how your ideal day looks like if you had no soccer, no school, and I’d never gotten that question before.”

Hagwell visited the coach in Chicago and had a 2 hour meeting with her and her parents. After the meeting and a tour of the fields, the coach had told Hagwell to let her know if she wanted to commit.

Hagwell was overjoyed at this opportunity. She knew it was an incredible school with a beautiful campus and incredible resources that would set her up for the future. “They have a lot of internships and job opportunities for your future beyond college.”

Hagwell’s hopes coming out of playing college soccer are to find lifelong friendships. She has met some of her current best friends through her club and high school teams, and says soccer has helped her build such amazing relationships. She is excited to meet new people and create new connections in the future. “Soccer just builds such an amazing community. You keep a level of connections after college and you have that forever, which I think is incredible.”

Something Hagwell finds exciting about attending the University of Chicago is that her older sister, Ava, is currently a freshman there on the track team.

“I’m actually really excited. My sister and I haven’t gone to school together since elementary. I don’t think I’m gonna be homesick, but to have someone there is great.” Her sister had the same reaction, and the two are excited to have two years of college together in the near future.

As a parent, Mrs. Hagwell says she is very proud of her daughter and how hard she has worked for this. “She works really hard in school and in sports, so you know, we’re proud of her.” She says that even though Hadley won’t pursue soccer after college, it was a good addition to her life, keeping her busy with other friends and overall making good memories.

While Hadley mentioned the mental burden of committing to play soccer, Mrs. Hagwell also felt a certain form of pressure herself as she watched her daughter navigate the complex process.

“I think you know it’s probably just for [Hadley] having the waiting process, right? If you reach out to the school, do you hear back? Do you not hear back?” The process is different for every athlete, but it worked out for Hadley, and Mrs. Hagwell couldn’t be more proud.

When questioned if she wants to continue to play soccer after college, Hagwell replied “No, I don’t think I want to. I want to work after college, like I’m kind of excited. I want to get a job and have a day-to-day.” She isn’t sure if she wants to do more lab work or office jobs, but she hopes to head in that direction.

An intelligent student and incredible athlete, Hagwell certainly has her friends, family, and teammates impressed with her initiative and hard work she puts in to everything she does. She will continue to work hard during her upcoming senior year and eventually go on to attend the University of Chicago in the near future.

The future is bright for Hagwell, and she will certainly accomplish great things in her time to come.