Rhett Sieverts '17 Recruiting Profile

I dislocated my right shoulder playing sports four times my junior year. I have always been very active in athletics and never thought my future might be headed in a different direction because of an injury. Surgery was inevitable and intimidating to say the least, but my trip to Seattle for reconstructive shoulder surgery was nothing compared to the next half a year I spent recovering. Not being able to use my right arm at all for six weeks was life changing. Everyday tasks such as taking a shower, putting on socks, and even driving a car suddenly became new skills to master. It was excruciating watching others do what I love from the sideline and it humbled me to the core. I worked my way through months of physical therapy appointments and was successfully released to participate in full contact sports again the day before my first football game as a Senior. I overcame adversity and have earned a second chance to play competitive sports again. I have learned valuable life lessons through this experience and am grateful for who I have become. I am a more compassionate person and a better athlete . . physically, emotionally and mentally.

Playing high school sports in Alaska has been an awesome experience. I live in Seward, Alaska, a small town about 125 miles south of Anchorage. We do not have any schools close by for after school games so our athletic seasons include a lot of traveling. My sophomore year, I traveled almost 5,000 miles. That is roughly the same distance between my home town in Alaska and the very tip of Florida. I am accustomed to 12+ hour bus rides, traveling by ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway System and small plane rides into rural bush communities are common. Traveling this often means a lot of missed school days and keeping current with academics can be challenging. I have had to learn to be self-disciplined and driven. Our Athletic Director’s favorite saying is, “You are a student first and an athlete second.” We have learned to live by this.

I am optimistic about my future and look forward to being a part of a team that will help me grow as an athlete and as a person.