Two Springside Athletes Look To The Future

Two Springside School student-athletes officially punched their tickets to college Wednesday afternoon.

Sprinter Taylor-Ellis Watson will take her talents to Pittsburgh, while hockey standout Nicole Volgraf is headed to Indiana.

Wednesday marked the first start of the NCAA’s official signing period and the school marked the occasion with an afternoon get-together at Vare Field House for the student-athletes, their teammates, and their families.

Ellis-Watson, who swept the 100, the 200, and the 400-meter dashes at the InterAc championship meet last spring, chose the Panthers over the University of Maryland.

“Pittsburgh has an amazing campus, amazing facilities,” she said. "It came as a shock to me. I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did. I loved the coaches and the support they have for the kids.

“I just fell in love with the coaches and I fell in love with the team.”

Ellis-Watson, who resides in Mt. Airy, is looking forward to a tranquil senior season now that her college-selection process is behind her.

“I don’t have any pressure on me for track,” she said. ”I don’t have to worry about running a faster time. I can just worry about having fun with my team, relax, and enjoy the season.”

Ellis-Watson notes that she’s in a unique position, because many of her classmates at Springside are still in the process of choosing a school.

“They’re stressing about ‘Did I get into my top school?’ she said. “I have this over with, it’s a good feeling.”

Volgraf, who resides in Lafayette Hill, chose Indiana over Richmond and American University. She verbally committed to the Hoosiers last spring, which enabled her to enjoy a relatively low-key senior season.

“It took a lot of the pressure off,” she said. “Playing in front of some of the college coaches was a little nerve wracking at a lot of the tournaments. Once I got there I had a lot of fun and was just playing my game.

“I had a really good season once I had that pressure off of me.”

Volgraf switched positions last fall, moving from forward to the midfield. Her offensive production declined as a result, but sill tallied seven goals, along with 11 assists

“We needed some strength in the midfield,” said Springside assistant coach Jan Douple, “and hoped that Nicole would be able to step up and be a threat on the offensive line too. It worked out well, she fit in nicely and was really positive about it, took it on as a challenge and definitely met the challenge,”

Although it’s farther from home than her other top choices, Volgraf says she fell in love with the school’s campus in Bloomington. She’s looking forward to taking the next step in her hockey career.

“I think the big difference will be that I’m going in as a freshman,” she said. “I’m starting at the bottom of the group. So I’ve got to go in, make myself known, and do the best I can.

“I’m going in as a freshman after being a senior who got a lot of playing time. I’ll have to adjust to that. It will be a fun challenge.”