Come back every Tuesday for Recruiting Horror Stories™, athletes' first-hand stories on what can go wrong during the recruiting process.

*University name has been omitted by request of athlete*

Taylor was a star soccer player in high school and received a few scholarships to play at the Division 1 level. She was torn between being a guaranteed freshmen starter at the DII level or a back-up for an unforeseeable amount of time in D1. Not wanting to make the wrong decision, Taylor decided to visit the campuses of the colleges she was considering and would take note of how she felt. The appeal of playing D1 soccer was definitely a factor for Taylor but she didn't want to attend a school that she didn't feel comfortable at. 

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After a few successful campus visits, at both DI and DII schools, Taylor visited a university that she considered a top contender. Taylor and her family took a tour and they were all impressed with the campus and the athletic facilities. Since she visited on a Friday, Taylor could stay with a potential teammate over the weekend to see how she would interact with the team. 

Taylor accompanied the team to a lifting session and then to dinner. She was a little nervous but the team made her feel as comfortable as possible. The visit was going well until the team mentioned that they were all going to attend a party later that night. Taylor was conflicted because she wasn't the partying type, but she didn't want to decline the invitation and risk the chance of distancing herself from her possible teammates. 

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Taylor was not looking forward to the party but decided to go anyway. She said she rationalized her attendance as “part of the college experience” and she wanted to get a feel for what the soccer team did in their down time. When the team got to the party, they immediately split up so Taylor stuck with the girl who was acting as her host. Especially since she was a high school student who didn't know anyone at the party which made her feel left out. For the whole night, Taylor felt anxious and out of place. Her host tried to get her involved but it didn't work.

The worst part of the night came when Taylor was talking to another girl on the soccer team who had been partying the whole night. The player asked Taylor if she knew where the bathroom was and before Taylor could answer, the player vomited all over Taylor! Her host grabbed Taylor and took her out of the house and back to her apartment to get cleaned up. Once Taylor showered and changed clothes she was so irritated that instead of spending the night with her host, she drove home. 

Despite the impressive campus tour, Taylor chose to attend a different university for soccer.

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* Originally published on July 19, 2022, by Kyle Brady