College Admissions 101 - What Happens If You Have a Career Ending Injury

October 16, 2024

We asked our 2024 Summer Interns to give advice on a variety of topics for student-athletes entering the college admission process. Next up, we asked Ava Hilaire about experiencing a career ending injury after being recruited to play a sport in college.

Q: What school do you go to?

AH: I go to Western New England University

Q: Why did you choose your school?

AH: The sports management program and being recruited to play softball

Q: What factors influenced your decision?

AH: The main reasoning was the softball aspect of school. I knew I wanted to play college softball and the program had a great resume to back them. The coaches and being able to meet the players was a great opportunity to see more of an insight into everyday demands of that schedule but also getting advice on to actually balance school, softball, and social life.

Q: How did your college experience change when you made the decision to stop playing softball?

AH: I tore my achilles the first day of the second week of school, which was also the first practice of preseason of my sophomore year of college. I stayed and helped out the team for the entirety of sophomore season, helping with paperwork, taking stats, giving the pitchers signs, and being the best teammate I could be. But I knew the injury was a full year recovery after surgery. Going through my freshman year, I knew of the demand it would have on my physically and mentally plus the addition to retraining my body on how to pitch. I knew my junior year was going to be my most difficult year yet academically so I chose to step away for this year and see how it works. Overall, my workload and recovery were the main factors that swayed my decision. This past year I got a job and have another for this upcoming school year so that has helped keep my free time productive. I definitely miss playing softball and would advise anyone going through any type of decision about taking a step back from the sport you love, to think about what is best for you in the future, meaning either sticking with it because you know you still have more to accomplish or moving on and doing other things that you wouldn’t expect yourself to do with this new found free time.

Q: What advice do you have for an incoming college student or someone going through the process of choosing?

AH: When it comes to the recruiting process, I have two pieces of advice - (1) be prepared with questions for coaches after clinics and (2) market yourself as much as you can.

My BIGGEST piece of advice is to, before clinics, think of 2-3 questions to ask the coaches. It can be about anything - what everyday life is for athletes at that school, how do people balance it, what a week in preseason looks like, etc. At the end of recruiting clinics, coaches always bring all the players and parents into a huddle and talk about the softball aspect, what they are looking for, etc. To set yourself apart from others, think of some questions that they could take a minute to answer. It makes them think you care rather than just one of the girls who just showed up because their parents made them and are just waiting to go home. I can’t count the number of times coaches, including the coach I eventually committed with, told me they remembered me specifically by either the question I asked them or the conversations we had.

Another thing I did specifically, was I filmed EVERYTHING. My parents bought a GoPro and we filmed every hitting practice, pitching practice with my pitching coach, and games. Before games, my mom would go and stick the GoPro in the fence right behind home plate to get the best view. We then edited them to into small clips and posted them on a softball Instagram page we made. YOU NEED TO MARKET YOURSELF! I would post clips of every clinic I went to and would send them to all the coaches to show them my progress or just what I am up to. Follow all the schools you like so that your videos can show up on their feed.

About Ava Hilaire

Ava is a senior at Western New England University studying sports management. As a two-sport high school varsity athlete, Ava continued to play softball at WNE before tearing her Achilles sophomore year. In the summer of 2023, Ava was a Sports Coordinator Intern with Boston Ski and Sports Club and looks forward to growing her sports management experience with Bay State Games. A fun fact about Ava is that to celebrate her high school graduation, Ava went skydiving!

See more recruiting tools and college admissions process information at our Recruiting Tools page.

College Admissions 101 Previous Posts

October 2, 2024 - Going to School Far From Home

October 9, 2024 - Transferring After Your First Year

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Bay State Games Inducts Three Into the 2026 Hall of Fame

August 26, 2026

Representative Patricia Haddad (legislative leadership), Representative John Barrett (legislative leadership), and Ryan McCarthy (baseball coach) have been selected for induction into the 2026 Bay State Games’ Hall of Fame. The inductees will receive their award at a pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park on Sunday, June 14 prior to the Red Sox game against Texas. The Bay State Games Hall of Fame was created to recognize past participants who have gone on to prestigious and successful athletic careers, as well as former and current coaches, officials, sports organizers, and volunteers who have made significant contributions to the organization throughout its 38-year history. Past inductees among the over 60 previous honorees include the NBA’s Dana Barros (‘06), Pat Connaughton (‘25) and the late Reggie Lewis (‘02); WNBA’s Rebecca Lobo (‘03); Major League Baseball’s Rich Hill (‘13); Olympians Nancy Kerrigan (‘07), Ada Korkhin (‘25) and Samantha Livingstone (‘18) and US Paralympic Gold Medalist Joe Lemar (‘15). “The Bay State Games is proud of the many athletes who have participated in the program and gone on to achieve success at the collegiate, professional, and Olympic levels. We are equally proud of the coaches, sport organizers, community leaders, and supporters whose dedication, expertise, and generosity have helped make the Bay State Games possible.” Said Kevin Cummings, the Bay State Games Executive Director. “We are honored to recognize this year's Hall of Fame class and celebrate the significant contributions each inductee has made to the Bay State Games. Their commitment, leadership, and lasting impact have strengthened the organization and enriched the experience of countless athletes throughout the Commonwealth.” REP. PATRICIA HADDAD - LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP Massachusetts State Representative Patricia Haddad championed state support for the Bay State Games for over two decades. She has supported the recreation, health, and education-based programs of the organization that benefit thousands of Massachusetts participants each year. A former teacher for 14 years, Rep. Haddad represented the 5th Bristol District for 25 years and served as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for ten years. REP. JOHN BARRETT - LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP Massachusetts State Representative John Barrett from Berkshire County has been a strong supporter of the Bay State Games since the mid-1980s. Rep. Barrett was instrumental in bringing the Winter Games to Berkshire County, where they have been held for over 35 years. He has served as State Representative for Berkshire County since 2017 and was formerly Mayor of North Adams for 26 years. Rep. Barrett is also a leading advocate of the statewide Summer Games. RYAN MCCARTHY - BASEBALL COACH Ryan McCarthy from Portsmouth has served as volunteer baseball coach at the Bay State Games for over two decades. He has led the Northeast team to numerous championship medals. Ryan has devoted more than 25 years to coaching high school student-athletes in both baseball and football at Triton Regional High School, Newburyport High School, and Dighton-Rehoboth High School. He has had a positive impact on countless Massachusetts high school student-athletes. For more on the Bay State Games Hall of Fame and past inductees, click here. https://www.baystategames.org/hall-of-fame

Bay State Games Announces 2026 Athletes of the Year

August 25, 2026

Bay State Games is excited to announce its selections for the 2026 Athlete of the Year Awards. Any athlete who participated in the 2026 Bay State Summer or Winter Games was eligible to be nominated for these awards. Selection is based on participation in the Games and other athletic achievements. The 2026 selections are: Female Youth Athlete – Dana Howling Wolf Keller Male Youth Athlete – Holden Choma Female Adult Athlete – Kiara Cabral Male Adult Athlete - Jacob DeAndrade Dana Howling Wolf Keller , 17, of Shrewsbury, is a senior at Notre Dame Academy in Worcester and an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Native American Tribe. Volleyball has been a major part of her life. She started unable to serve over the net but, after countless hours of dedication, has turned serving into one of her strengths and learned that confidence is built through persistence. Dana plays setter and right side for her high school team and SLAM national club team, and captains both teams. She was named to the 2025 Central MA Athletic Conference All-Star Team and represented her school as a MIAA sportsmanship delegate. Dana represented the Central region for Girls Volleyball in the Bay State Games in 2024 & 2026. This year, she was also named the sportsmanship recipient for the Central Girls Volleyball team. Dana has also been a Bay State Games High School Ambassador. She has committed to continue playing volleyball in college at the University of St. Joseph (CT). Off the court, Dana extensively volunteers at the Shrewsbury Public Library and Shrewsbury Special Olympics. Notre Dame Academy honored her with the Katherine Forbes Eskrine Award for her community service. Dana is also active in her parish's youth group and has participated in several Catholic leadership programs. She aspires to become a forensic pathologist, and last summer served as a lab assistant to Dr. Ann Burgess in Boston College's Forensic Science Summer Program. Holden Choma, 17, of West Newbury, is a senior at Pentucket Regional High School. Holden has competed in Track and Field since his freshman year and specializes in the high jump. He dedicated himself to jumping higher, and in his first year, he improved from 5'2 to 6'6.75, and was at the top of the MIAA. He is also a 2x USATF Region 1 champion in the high jump. He also competed at the 2025 USATF Junior Olympics and was the 15-16 National Runner-Up. This year he faced a setback after suffering a patellar tendon tear on his jumping leg. After nearly a year to fully heal, he was the MIAA Division 5 champion in the spring, and this summer he competed in his second Bay State Games after winning silver in the 2025 high jump. Holden broke his slump by shattering a 30-year-old Bay State Games record in the high jump at 2.05m (6'8.75) and took home the gold medal. Outside of jumping, Holden enjoys volunteering at Ipswich Junior Sailing, teaching children how to sail safely, and now works as an instructor. As a member of his school's band, he marched in West Newbury's Veterans Day Parade and held a private performance for local veterans. Kiara Cabral, 23, of Somerset, is a recent graduate of Bridgewater State University. She also competed as a student-athlete on the track and field team in sprinting events. She had a storied career as a Bridgewater State Bear achieving accolades from the school to the national level. Kiara was named 2026 Woman’s Athlete of the Year by Bridgewater State and holds five school records in 60m Indoor, 200m Indoor, 400m Indoor + Outdoor, 500m Indoor, and 4x100 Outdoor. In the MASCAC conference she holds six championship titles which she earned from 2022 to 2026. The conference named Kiara Athlete of the Week on 21 occasions and she holds two conference records in the 4x100 and the 400m. Kiara was placed on the All-Academic team for three seasons and the Sportsmanship team once. She has been nationally recognized as an NCAA All-American and qualified for both the indoor and outdoor nationals in 2025 and the indoor nationals again in 2026. Kiara was first team All-American in the outdoor 4x100 relay in 2025 and the indoor 400m in 2026, and was named second team All-American for outdoor 400m in 2025. This summer, Kiara competed in the Bay State Games in the 100m and 200m events. She was the gold medalist in both events running a time of 12.51 in the 100m and 25.35 in the 200m. Kiara graduated last spring with a degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education. She has always had a passion for helping children understand and enjoy math, and will enter her first year teaching middle school math this fall. Jacob DeAndrade, 26 , of Foxboro, graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2024 with a Master of Business Administration and currently works in finance. Jacob was an accomplished student-athlete at Bridgewater State. In his rookie season at Bridgewater State, the school named him Rookie of the Year. He was a 10x Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference champion and a 3x member of the DIII All-Academic team. He is a 2x competitor in the Bay State Games Track and Field event. This year, Jacob had an especially impressive showing, earning gold in the 100m Open and 200m Open events with times of 10.83 and 22.04. In his free time, Jacob enjoys running, lifting, and playing soccer. Bay State Games Athlete of the Year recipients will receive a plaque commemorating their accomplishment. For more information on the Bay State Games Athlete of the Year program and past winners, go to www.baystategames.org/AOY .