The unspoken glory of off-campus sports
March 1, 2010 • Caitlin M. '10
Filed under Sports, Uncategorized
Ursuline is home to hundreds of athletes: basket-bears, soccer bears, swimming and diving bears, and even golfing bears. Each week Bear Faithful gives updates on our teams’ performances in their various games, matches, and tournaments.
What often goes unnoticed is the hard work of the off-campus athletes. They devote just as much time and energy to their extra-curricular activities, but are seldom recognized for their achievements.
Lisa M. ’12, a dancer for Power House Competitive Drill Company, has danced for 13 years and considers it her passion.
“I cannot remember what exactly made me start dancing, but watching different dance competitions and events made me want to pursue some sort of career in dancing, then it became my passion,” said Lisa.
She practices with her company once a week for two hours and then attends mandatory dance classes at least three times a week.
In addition to dance, Lisa participates in Jesuit cheerleading, which practices twice a week.
Although her time consuming dance and cheer schedule becomes overwhelming at times, Lisa explains, “[Cheer] is just another way to branch out and stay in shape and healthy! And I love it!”
Lauren C. ’11 also juggles an off-campus sport with an Ursuline sport. She plays Ursuline lacrosse four days a week and still finds time to ride her horse, Miss Prisse, twice a week.
“I have a lot of fun doing [Lacrosse] too, but there isn’t always a lot of free time in my schedule with both sports,” said Lauren.
Lauren has been horseback riding since she was six-years old. She took lessons when she was younger and now competes in horse shows about once a month.
Sometimes she finds it difficult to fit in her horse shows with her lacrosse games, because shows can last anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of days.
“The best part is flying over the jumps during cross country. It’s also a lot of fun spending time with my horse. She’s like a really big dog I get to take care of,” said Lauren.
Kelsey N. ’10 shows her pride by participating in competitive cheerleading for the PRIDE All-Star team.
Kelsey has been cheering for PRIDE since she was a sophomore. She and her team practice three times during the week for about two hours and three hours on Sundays.
“We have 8 competitions each season,” said Kelsey. The first competition takes place in early November and the last at the end of February.
During competition season, the team practices at least five times during the week, adding more practices if they need it. The actual competitions usually last all day Saturday and Sunday.
“All of the hard work really pays off in the end,” said Kelsey. “My coaches are hilarious, the girls at the gym are so sweet, and the competitions are a blast!”
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