St. Ed’s seniors Britt Reisman and Cameron Phillips made their college choices known in an official signing ceremony last month on campus. Reisman penned a letter of commitment to play D3 soccer at Hartwick College in New York. Phillips received a scholarship to play D2 lacrosse at Tusculum University in Tennessee.
Instantly gone is the stress that consumes scores of high school athletes over one of the biggest decisions they will ever make. For these two young men, the final year of high school sports promises to be all the more carefree and enjoyable. Reisman is now in the midst of a memorable soccer season as the Pirates are blowing the doors off most opponents. Phillips is biding his time in hopes of experiencing the same when the spring lacrosse season starts.
“I chose Hartwick College because I loved the scenery around campus,” Reisman said. “The signing day meant a lot to me. It was great to have my friends and family enjoy that day with me.
“I’ve been at St. Edward’s since pre-K and athletics has meant a lot to me. I played football and soccer here since middle school. The coaching has really helped me to become a college athlete.”
Last year Reisman earned First Team All-District honors tending goal for the Pirates. He had 80 total saves for a per-game average of 1.05 goals against. This year those numbers stand to improve with the team thriving under new head coach Pape Saye. Seven shutouts have been posted through the first nine matches.
Reisman and Phillips took decidedly different paths to get to this point. While Reisman is a hard-core lifer at St. Ed’s, Phillips transferred in as a junior. They arrived at the signing ceremony in a decidedly different manner as well. Reisman strode into the gym under his own power, while Phillips was on crutches.
“It was a great college visit, I was there the whole weekend,” Phillips explained. “On Sunday we had what was called ‘prospect day’ where we did a bunch of scrimmaging. Late in the day we were playing really hard and I jumped up, came down, and rolled my ankle very severely.”
On signing day Phillips was ready to shed his crutches after five weeks of physical and mental annoyance. At the time he said, “I’m ready to start running and get back into the groove of things.” He expects to be at full strength when pre-season practice starts, and sees good things happening for a team coming off back-to-back district titles.
“I transferred into St. Edward’s last year when I saw an opportunity to get to where I am now – playing in college.” Phillips told us. “I started playing travel lacrosse with (St. Ed’s) coach (Doug) Bailey, and some of the players from St. Edward’s were on that team.
“I fell in love with the travel team so I enrolled at St. Edward’s. We had a really young team last year, but as one of the older guys I saw an opportunity to take a leadership role. I tried to help out as much as I could, and not only by playing.
“I tried to be a good role model and keep the guys pumped up. I had experienced things that they might not have seen, so I just wanted them to be mentally prepared.”
Stats like goal scoring don’t generally apply when you play defense – as Phillips does. He had one goal last year to go along with 33 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers and 14 face-off wins. Nevertheless, his overall presence was enough to earn plaudits from his coach, and obviously get him to where he wants to be.
“Cameron was an excellent leader on the field and would do everything to help his team be the best it could be,” Bailey told us. “He guided our young corps into a cohesive and (district) championship unit. He was named 2018 Second Team All-District on defense. He will be a great fit at Tusculum, both as a student and an athlete.”
Reisman found the scenery in New York to his liking, and the same can be said for Phillips when he was in Tennessee. He said, “I fell in love with Tusculum. It was a beautiful campus and area surrounded by mountains.
“The coaches and players were great guys and had an intensity that matched the way we play at St. Edward’s. They welcomed me into their program and have plenty of tools to progress me to my full potential. That is why I am part of the Tusculum Class of ’23.”
