Ever since she was a seventh-grader, West Perry’s Molly Zimmerman wanted to attend Villanova.
“I absolutely love it there,” the junior mid-fielder said.
Her recruiting campaign began by sending the field hockey coaching staff emails to make sure she was on their radar. Four years later, after years of training and being laser-focused on her academics, she committed to Nova in early August.
“I’d been emailing Villanova for a couple of years at this point,” Zimmerman said. “They obviously couldn’t respond. But I went to a clinic there in July and it went really well. So, I decided to get in contact with the coaches again. I had a visit there and I loved it.”
Villanova “makes sense” to her on an “athletic and academic level,” she said.
“The coaching staff there, their goals just align with mine,” Zimmerman said. “They are super into staying accountable and keeping everyone really engaged – no matter how much playing time you’re getting. I really wanted to, kind of, bring that back to the high school, too.”
This past summer, she attended USA Field Hockey’s 2022 Nexus Championship, a prestigious invitation to the nation’s top players. She was also named to MAX Field Hockey’s Class of 2024 watch list.
Academically, she was recently listed among “62,000 students from across the country” that earned “academic honors from the College Board’s National Recognition Programs,” according to West Perry School District. She and one of her classmates, Joseph Wilt, received “the National Rural and Small Town Award in recognition of their academic excellence in the classroom and on College Board assessments.”
As far as her academics, she has a choice to make.
“I was accepted in both bio and chem schools,” Zimmerman said. “I’m not really sure, but I’ll choose one or the other.”
She said she’d love to be involved in “experimental research” in both fields. Now that she’s made one of her dreams come true, she said she’s turning her attention to others.
“I can focus so much on bringing leadership to the field, and just like, developing my skills,” she said. “Of course, you could do that during the recruiting process, but it’s nice to have solid goals to work toward. I know what standards are set now and I’m just working toward them.”
