Every year, from November 9th to August 1st, the national signing period for student-athletes opens. It’s the first day these athletes can officially sign a national letter of intent to commit to a college. This is a big moment for these athletes and is a big commitment, but it comes at the cost of a lot of hard work. When a student signs they commit one year to college, once that year is up the school must let them renew their scholarship. Athletes may de-commit or change their minds about the college after signing a letter of intent, but it may risk them losing 1 year of eligibility at their new school. This year Palisade itself had three football players get signed. Those athletes are, Niko Moreno who is headed to CMU, Malakhi Espinosa who is heading to Western, Colorado, and finally, Alexander Everett who signed to play at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. National signing day is such a big deal because only 1.3% of high school athletes get a chance to play in college. Football coach and teacher at palisade Mr. Mohr states, “I’m really proud, they’re really hard workers, it’s always good to see their hard work pay off. It’s exciting.” Many students and family members support these athletes and their choices. When making a huge commitment to college sports, it’s a big deal. Not many high school athletes have an opportunity like this. These Athletes have worked their hardest up until this point in their life, and they’ll only work harder once they play for their college.