On Jan. 25, junior April Cronin verbally committed to play Division I soccer at Valparaiso University over the phone. Cronin has been playing soccer her entire life, and has been a varsity player at South since her sophomore season.

Cronin began the recruiting process late in 2011, while she was playing club soccer for F.C. United. To get noticed by schools, Cronin had to work hard to get her name out.

“I made a list of schools that I would be interested to go to,” Cronin said. “Before each tournament I would e-mail a bunch of schools and send them a quick bio and my schedule at the tournament so that they could come watch my games.”

While Cronin ultimately made the decision to commit to “Valpo”, Cronin says she was scouted by several Midwest schools prior to Valpo. Valpo is located in Valparaiso, Indiana, one hour and 45 minutes away from Glenview.

Despite being a junior, Cronin insists that it was the right time to commit, despite common belief.

“I get the question a lot; ‘why did you commit so early?’” Cronin said. “But, one thing I don’t think people know is that junior year is the main year for commitments in D1 girls soccer; it is rare that a D1 school will offer a scholarship [or a] spot your senior year. Everything happens early because the schools are always a step ahead.”

According to Cronin, choosing an all-around good school was very important to her, and Valpo became the clear choice after she visited.

“I made the decision to commit after I went on an unofficial visit to the school,” Cronin said. “While I was there [the head coach] made an offer and gave me a relative time limit of response. I really liked the team; I seemed to fit in right when I got there.”

Cronin considers Valpo to be a wise choice not only for soccer, but for its acclaimed academics and location. Being about two hours away, Valpo offered Cronin everything she needed to commit.

For now, Cronin is looking to help lead the Lady Titans to another successful season, including being on the list of the top 25 point-scorers in South soccer history.

“I want to go far in the playoffs after our early disappointing loss last year,” Cronin said. “Basically I want to live up to the high reputation Glenbrook South has made in girls’ soccer.”

Though Cronin feels her soccer career has unfolded nicely thus far, she is not sure if she has professional aspirations as of now. However, she believes Valpo will offer her the tools necessary both academically and athletically to succeed.

“I have no idea what I want to study yet, [but] luckily Valpo has a broad range [of majors] and many of the girls on the team reassured me that they didn’t know what they wanted to study when they first came too,” Cronin said.