Powell, a senior, always wanted to play college soccer. Now she has her shot at Purdue Northwest.
HOLT, Mich. – Holt senior forward soccer star Jentre Powell set a lofty goal years ago. She wanted to play soccer in college, so she set her mind to finding a way to land a scholarship.
The Rams will only be sending one player to play in college next season. And that’s Powell, who will be attending Purdue University Northwest. Her success is a product of her willingness to reach out to college coaches since she was a freshman in high school, a high level of commitment to training and strong academics.
The youngest of three, Powell grew up in a competitive atmosphere. Her older sisters, Anslee and Skyler, played collegiate soccer. Powell knew from a young age that playing at the next level was something she was going to do.
“I think my mom and my sisters were the biggest help, because I was clueless, no one really tells you what to do,” said Powell. “And through them, the best thing you can do is email, call the coach, annoy them, because they got to know your name.”
Powell committed to play Division II soccer at PNW, capping off a recruitment process that started freshman year of high school. She has been playing club soccer for eight years, with the Michigan Wolves, Hawks and Rush.
Powell moved on to Midwest United FC, a club based in Grand Rapids.
She is a three-sport athlete, playing golf, basketball and of course, soccer. Playing three sports conflicted with her club team, especially since Midwest United FC is a decent drive away to get to Grand Rapids.
“I’m used to having to two practices a day, which I’ve had to balance,” Powell said. “Generally, it’s a two-hour drive there and back, for an hour practice, so sometimes I would work it out where I could practice with the boys after. So, I would do my practice, and then go to the boys, or we’d have a team training, which I would do to kind of make the two-hour drive a little more worth it.”
Powell’s dream to play in college was clear to Midwest United FC coach Pat Doyle.
“Jentre was proactive. She was the one emailing coaches, not her parents. She was diligent in terms of corresponding and putting herself out there,” said Doyle.
Beside emailing coaches and playing on a competitive club team Powell had attended ID camps, which are similar to college combines for football. The player pays to attend a camp at a school, and coaches see the players and talk to them.
Midwest United FC put an emphasis on maintaining the balance between sport and academics, as it is one of the top criteria for collegiate coaches.
Powell currently has a 3.8 GPA.
“I didn’t have a lot of a social life because of soccer. I was never home on the weekends because our games are all out of state,” said Powell. “No one really understood why I could go to things, and why I wasn’t super active through our school which was a little challenging to deal with. But in the end, I’m pretty sure it was worth it.”
Powell was initially interested in PNW’s sister school, Purdue-Fort Wayne, a Division I program. She established a connection with the coach at an ID camp and liked that their dorm rooms came with a kitchen. However, PFW did not offer a nursing program.
“When I really solidified that I wanted to join the nursing program, I started looking around and then I found Purdue-Northwest, which is the exact same set-up just Division II and they’re in the GLIAC [Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference],” said Powell. “It worked out better that most of their games would be played in Michigan, and I knew right then that it was going to be a really good fit.”
She made this decision after shadowing her sister at Children’s Hospital in Detroit, and Powell is already accepted into PNW’s nursing program.
Powell has a full ride to PNW, and is hoping to get an academic scholarship to cover the out-of-state tuition difference that the athletic scholarship does not cover.
Powell said she will have to get used doing things without her mother, she is ready to start her collegiate career.
“I’m super excited for this new chapter,” said Powell.