‘We’re glad
she stayed’ –
and so is she
In the end, it all worked out. But when Skylar Steele first started at Putnam Science Academy in the 2020-21 school year, she wasn’t so sure.
She decided to enroll at PSA instead of Killingly High School for a chance to play soccer at a high level and get herself ready to play in college. But because the world was still in the throes of COVID, PSA didn’t have enough girls’ soccer players to field a team that year, and the program was eventually dropped entirely. Now a senior at the school, Steele never played one soccer game at PSA.
But earlier this month, she did announce that she had committed to New England College in New Hampshire and will play soccer there beginning next fall.
“It was a relief because at first I didn’t know where I was going to go to college without a team here to help with that. It was difficult back then,” she said. “But once I talked with my dad, and we started getting comfortable with going to college clinics and being seen there by coaches, it worked out fine.”
Steele, who just turned 17, also still had her club team – initially Liverpool, now Mach 1 FC – to play for, which helped reinforce her decision to stay at PSA.
“Being in this environment here will really help me in the long run,” she said. “I’ve gotten so much more comfortable with myself and the people around me. My first year here, I was very quiet, I didn’t even make small talk with anyone. I was just really reserved and to myself. Now I’m comfortable with all of it and I try to put myself out there as much as I can with everyone.
“I’m glad I stayed. The people surrounding me here, even though I didn’t have a team here, made me feel comfortable.”
The left back built a relationship with NEC coach Paul Vazquez going back to her sophomore, so the chance to finally play for him has her excited. So too does the academic piece of college. Steele is a talented artist and plans to further her skills by majoring in one of the programs there.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “New environment, new people…it’s going to be exciting.”
Said PSA Athletic Director Tom Espinosa: “We’re really happy for her, and we’re really glad she stayed. When she first started, she was really quiet, really kept to herself. But as time has gone on, you see her around the school with her friends, she’s not just to herself. I never got a chance to see her play, but it’s exciting for that she gets to go on to the next level.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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