GGGA student Alvaro Escalada signed with the University of San Diego on 2014 National Signing Day. Escalada, of Spain, is a senior at GGGA and Montverde Academy an will attend USD in the Fall of 2015. He shares his thoughts with us on why he committed and what it means to finally reach his goal.
What does it mean to you to finally get to national signing day and sign your college letter of intent?
It is the feeling of pure satisfaction to have achieved this great goal of mine! To commit and sign to an American university to play college golf at the highest level, division 1, I am very thankful to the GGGA team and my family back in Spain and everything they have done for me. All I can say is, I am very proud to have achieved this moment in my life.
Why did you decide on the University of San Diego?
I really like the competitive team they have over there. They play a very good schedule, plus the golf coaches and facilities are amazing. The weather is incredible out there, and I really think that I will have many opportunities to build my game and grow towards the goal of playing on the PGA Tour.
What are some other goals that you have while you are in college?
I want to graduate with a degree that can also support any business life cycle I could have or any career outside of playing golf. It should help me create a backup in case I get injured or anything happens in my golf game outside my control.
What major are you pursuing?
Business or research.
What are you looking forward to most in this next phase?
Living with the team and traveling with the team. Before coming to the US, I played with a Spanish national team, but here in the US, I have never played with a team, so I am very excited.
What has prepared you the most, in terms of your training, to allow you to get to this point and to play at this level?
I would say what has helped me the most is the schedule. The schedule we have here at the academy is very strong, and Dr. Dan (Director of Mental Training) and Txema (Senior Golf Coach) have helped me so much with my golf game. It is always about quality practice.
