SAM GRELLA AND MERRIMACK COLLEGE… GET MARRIED!

There comes a time when kids have to make hard decisions, especially when it comes to recruiting. There are some who believe a bird in the hand is better than a bird in the bush. But sometimes people don’t care what’s in a hand. Sometimes they refuse to settle or surrender and want it all. SAM GRELLA, wanted it all when it came to choosing a college. She had multiple D1 offers on the table. She had offers from up and coming D1 programs. She had offers from Championship and NCAA programs. But that didn’t matter to Sam Grella, she had put in so much work over the years. She wanted the beautiful campus, the top flight education, the winning coach and refused to settle for anything less. Well last night Sam Grella finally found her home, that school, that place that checked all the boxes. MERRIMACK UNIVERSITY AND SAM GRELLA GOT MARRIED YESTERDAY… and now Sam Grella is on a new journey.

She had to hear the same question everyday, where are you going to school? She had to hear the so called, know it alls, remind her that a scholarship is LIFE CHANGING IN SOME CASES and not to look a gift horse in the mouth. That she should feel lucky, graceful and pick one of the D1 offers on the table offered to her. She had to listen to the gossip from those haters who secretly were hoping her dreams wouldn’t come true. After all, Sam and her parents made all the sacrifices that so many kids and parents could not. Like sending her to Immaculate Heart Academy, so she’d be challenged academically. So she could be coached by a true gentleman in Steve Silver. Sam Grella knows what pressure feels like. She knows what deadlines issued from College Coaches, looks like. But Sam Grella also knows her worth and knew she would find her dream school if she could take the heat. But Sam Grella has always been able to take the heat and it’s why she is on her way to Merrimack College. She has always been a little stronger and had higher standards for herself. Sam Grella and Merrimack are going to make a great team together!

Sam Grella has standards she sets. These standards are higher than anyone rightfully should set. But Sam is not like other kids, her mind and body work different. She feeds off challenges and sets goals that make you shake your head. It why she decided to join one of the states powerhouse AAU programs, The New Jersey Shoreshots two years ago. What people did not know is Same Grella is not like most kids. She doesn’t do easy breezy. It why driving down to the Shore 6 days a week from North Jersey was not a problem for her. You see Sam Grella was chasing a dream that she told her dad about when she was a little girl. The standards for Sam have and always will be different because nobody expects more of themselves than Sam Grella. It’s this insatiable appetite to be her very best and make any sacrifice that has led her to Merrimack College of the MAAC CONFERENCE.

Sam’s father Nick was a D1 player at UMBC and has been her biggest supporter. He is the one that has always reminded her that she had a special talent. Her Mother Jaimee is the one that made sure she always was accountable and paid attention to the details both on and off the court. It was she that stood behind her daughter and refused to let her settle.. The two parents are part of TEAM SAM. It was their decision to allow Sam to join the Shoreshots and Tracey Sabino. They wanted Sam, to understand that they had her back and that while she was going into a unknown world. She would thrive in that world. NICK and JAIMEE GRELLA hold their kids to one standard….WORK HARD and expect nothing in return. They let their kids fight their own battles. They are forced to stand on their own two feet. So it was no surprise last spring when Tracey Sabino said “RIGHT NOW SAM IS MY BEST PLAYER”. Powerful words when you understand every player on the ShoreShots team signed with D1 schools except one who is off to a D2 school. Sam Grella, is very lucky because parents who have your back without being a distraction is rare. Sam, parents supported her but were never fans… they were always parents first.

I tell kids in the recruiting process all the time: If you’re recruiting them, you better be sure. But if they are recruiting you, then you know for sure. Merrimack and Sam recruited it each other. Basketball throws a monkey wrench into the mix, when a kid is picking a school. But when Coach Traversi arrived at Merrimack. She showed Sam the love from day one when they started talking. She made it clear, that she was about winning and that means winning chips. Merrimack has a new coach with a track record of major success. The new Warriors head coach, Missy Traversi, is the architect of Army’s recent greatness. It was she that built the program from the bottom up and turned them into a powerhouse. Now she is being asked to to the same thing again at Merrimack. Sam is her type player, gritty and versatile with a winning background. She’s from the high school, who snapped SJV’s 4 year undefeated streak. Immaculate Heart is a program that is used to winning chips. Sam Grella is the type of player all coaches dream about. Well Missy Traversi can stop dreaming because she picked up a dream recruit in Sam Grella. Just ask her high school coach, one of the best in the best business…Steve Silver!!

Sam Grella, is the ultimate gym rat. The type of player that seems to never get tired of being in the gym. She is that player when she tells you something, she does it. When some around her tired to pressure her to choose a D1 college that had offered. She told me, she didn’t see herself there. When her recruiting process dragged out. Many thought she should lower her standards. So instead she raised her standards and it why these days. SAM GRELLA made the best bet ever. She bet on herself and didn’t let those on the sidelines have a voice in her future…. MERRIMACK IS THE HOME SHE ALWAYS KNEW SHE DESERVED AND MERRIMACK IS VERY LUCKY!…CONGRATS TO SAM GRELLA AND FAMILY!

SAM GRELLA AND MERRIMACK OFFICIAL COMMITMENT VIDEO … WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE!