As the 2025-26 school year comes to an end, seniors are planning for what comes next. Senior Joel Freibe-Makinto will be attending DIII Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia next year, where he will also be playing football for the school. Friebe-Makinto is one of only three HHS players to be playing football at the next level. The moment of realization that football could go past high school first happened in his junior year.
“The moment of realization came during my junior year. I had just moved here and didn’t really know what to expect, but by the end of the season, I was leading the district in tackles, and I had a lot of coaches reaching out to me, and with the help of some of my high school coaches here, I got a lot of communications with college coaches, and that’s when I kind of realized that I could turn it into something more than just playing for fun,” Friebe-Makinto said.
Friebe-Makinto had other colleges on his list as well, but Shenandoah stood out to him from all the rest.
“ I would say the community and the coaches there made all the difference. They did a really good job of making me already feel like I was part of the team, just when talking to them, going on tours, and meeting the players, it just felt like a much better fit than some of the other schools that I went to,” Friebe-Makinto said.
Being a prospect hopeful to play football in college often involves a heavy recruiting process which can often be extremely stressful for many players. Friebe-Makinto was able to take this process in stride, and detailed the steps taken.
“I started by kind of researching a little bit, and then found out more about the school, and then Coach Yoder, the head coach at Shenandoah, came to school to talk to me, and I had a meeting with him, got his phone number, and then he invited me for a tour, and then he offered me a spot on the team, and I made some decisions, and then I realized that that’s where I wanted to commit to,” Friebe-Makinto said.
Shenandoah University is a Division III school, many of which don’t typically get much national attention. While Friebe-Makinto doesn’t deny that playing at a higher level would be a great experience and is leaving that door cracked open, he is still one hundred percent committed to the team for the season.
“Definitely my first year that I’m there, I’m going to really try to be as much into it as possible, but if my performance were to lead to something higher, then I’ll see where that takes me,” Friebe-Makinto said.
Overall, playing college football is only a reality for a select number of high school players. Friebe-Makinto is extremely grateful for this opportunity and will be looking forward to the next four years of his life, whatever they may bring.
“[This opportunity] is proof of hard work and just seeing where I used to be, even in the sport, just how much I’ve advanced. I’m also the first person in my family to play sports at the college level, and it’ll be cool to have my parents be able to see me do something that I really enjoy,” Friebe-Makinto said.
