#NationalSigningDay2022: Coletti signs to play for Embry Riddle lacrosse team

On‌ ‌February‌ ‌2,‌ ‌Leah Coletti ‌signed‌ ‌her‌ ‌National‌ ‌Letter‌ ‌of‌ ‌Intent‌ ‌to‌ ‌play‌ ‌lacrosse ‌for‌ ‌Embry Riddle,‌‌ NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports ‌Women’s‌ Lacrosse.‌ 

Coletti’s sister Elizabeth Coletti encouraged her to try lacrosse in seventh grade. 

“Lacrosse got recommended to me because I played soccer and basketball my whole life, and my sister played soccer for Towson. So she told me to try lacrosse,and she influenced me even though she never did it,” Coletti said.

In addition, Coletti played on a highly competitive club team the Skywalkers for four years, which led to great improvement and gave her numerous opportunities for recruitment. 

Schools such as VCU, Monmouth, and Tampa University all showed interest.

“I chose Embry Riddle over the others because there were a lot of pros and cons, but what school fit me best and offered me the best was Embry Riddle, even though I loved all,” Coletti said.

The recruitment process was different due to Covid. 

Coletti was new to the recruitment process, but her parents weren’t.

“Leah has been fortunate enough to have both my wife and I very involved in her college decision making process,” Domenick Coletti said. 

“My recruitment with Covid was a lot harder than it typically would be. . . I had to send out the film to these colleges because they weren’t able to see me in person. It was a lot of emails and creating highlight films. Certain schools reached out to me. Some were allowed to see me in person and some weren’t,” Coletti said.

“The whole idea and purpose of club is to be on a team where everyone is striving for the same goal,” Coletti said. “Which is to play in college and to get recruited.”

This tense and high-performance team helped to improve Coletti as a player.

“I’m not nervous, but I am excited to play in college because it is a different play and its higher competition,” Coletti said.

Juggling school work while putting in effort on the field was not an easy task, but she balanced it well and excels in managing her time while staying organized. 

“Leah has been raised in a household with a focus on family and faith and given the tools necessary to manage herself as an independent woman. The hardest thing is the concern of youth and/or lack of life experience and how she will manage things for herself during the tough times, said Domenick and Carolyn Coletti. 

Her coach, Brooke Wilson recognizes her strong sense of competitiveness and never-ending drive to improve. 

“Leah is not someone I would want to make angry on the lacrosse field. If there’s a goal that needs to be scored or a hustle play that needs to happen, Leah is there to ensure that it does,” Coach Wilson said.

Coletti is a very aggressive and competitive person when it comes to playing and it sets her apart from others. She has the “fight for the ball” mentality.

Her parents played a huge role in supporting her over the years. 

“They supported me with everything like paying for club and all the training that I had to do. It’s a lot of money and they saw potential in me and wanted me to pursue this,” Coletti said. 

There are many things that Leah’s parents Domenick and Carolyn Coletti admire about their daughter. “I admire Leah’s outgoing spirit, her love and kindness, which she mixes with her grit and tenacity. As her father, I feel she does this very gracefully,” said Domenick Coletti. 

Coletti also enjoyed her time on the high school lacrosse team. She shared good memories and experiences with her teammates.

“My best memory was last year we were in the playoffs and we didn’t have any seniors because of Covid. We were playing Damascus and we were the underdogs. It turned out to be the best game that all of us ever played and we ended up beating them,” Coletti said. 

Coletti is currently in the National English Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, and FCA.

“Congratulations on all your hard work and success,” Coach Brooke said.