Old News/New News

Ok, I can't believe that I never got pictures up from Lauren's Marathon last Spring, so here they are.  She did an amazing job running the Surfer's Path Marathon in Santa Cruz to raise awareness and money for The Arthritis Foundation.  She raised over $10,000, which was amazing!!  We will miss Lauren so much this year, but hope to keep up with her traveling and other fun endeavors as she studies and travels abroad this Fall/year.  So far we know she'll be in Madrid in the Fall, and then Thailand in January, and will look forward to getting her updates.

In NEW news, Katherine sent me this picture of her and her father outside of the original CATZ facility in Pasadena just last week.  We have several coaches trained in CATZ, plus we teach classes all year long for PE, plus Lizzy loves doing the workouts, and has been a regular much more than I have been--I tend to come and go from the workouts, unfortunately.  However, Katherine's dad knew Jim, the founder, when they were first getting started (back in the day) in Pasadena.  It's now a nation wide program, reaching all ages of athletes from elementary school kids through professional athletes, and has an East Coast franchise in Boston.  Very cool!

I also played squash with Katherine at some point last year, but never got this posted, so because I know how much she LOVES being on the Blog, I'm posting this for her!  In the style department, she's got game! 

Green Feats--what is that?!

Anyone recognize these sneaks?

Here is what was on the MIDD site about Green Feats:

"It's as easy as tying your shoes. Make a promise to the planet. Then show your support by lacing up with green. Here's ten athletes that did it. They are green athlete liaisons, and they and others--representing every Middlebury sports team--will be working during Earth Day weekend, starting April 22, to promote a sustainable culture in athletics. Along with Nordic Sking Head Coach Andrew Gardner, they'll be collecting people's pledges to the environment and handing out green laces to remind them of their promises. The idea is inspired by GreenLaces.org founder and professional soccer player Natalie Spilger who says, 'It's time we stop only representing our sponsors and start representing our values.'

These athletes are doing it. Are you?"

Here is the link so you can see all the athletes' shoes: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/middmag/2011/04/21/green-feats/?pid=26

Click the link, and you'll get to find out who's shoes these are, and what her promise was! We're proud of you, #11! :)

Studwell Has Exciting Summer Abroad

Sarah Studwell had an exciting and adventurous summer abroad. She spent six weeks in Europe in all, but split the trip into two halves. The first three weeks were spent working through the WWOOF Foundation where you work a few hours a day on an organic farm in exchange for housing and meals. Sarah said the following about that experience, "That was a blast, though sometimes we did some pretty hard work."

The next three weeks she backpacked from the Netherlands to Munich, Prague, Cinque Terre (Italy), and ended in Barcelona. What Sarah had to say most about that part of the trip was this, "Barcelona was really fun for me because I got to speak a lot of Spanish, and in both Spain and Germany we got to watch World Cup Games in the country that won. That was very exciting!"

She also reported that in addition to playing a lot of beach volleyball for the remainder of the summer, she will be working a lot to pay for her trip! Sounds like a great summer to me! Thanks for sharing, Stud! :)

Jane Bikes 300 Miles to "Grant a Wish"

This summer Jane had a little help with her workouts. She participated in the Make-a-Wish Foundation Bike Ride. The young boy she sponsored was a 4th grader whose name is Matthew. The "mission" of the organization is: "Our Mission: The Make-a-Wish Foundation of Michigan grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy." She and some of her family participated in the 300 mile bike ride, and then her special friend, Matthew was the one to put her medal around her neck at the end of the ride.

This is some of what Jane had to say about the ride. "I DID IT!! I'm a little bit shocked that I'm still functioning, but it was an amazing experience doing the Make-a-Wish bike ride. There were so many inspirational stories...it was so cool. You sponsor a kid, and then you get to meet them at the end and they give you your medal. I was definitely crying by that time. His name is Matthew and he's only going into 4th grade. It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done (both mentally and physically) but it was sooo worth it in the end!"

Great work, Jane. I think it sounds like a win-win for both you and Matthew. And, you got some great exercise out of it, too. We all know cross-training is good, but I certainly never expected a 300 mile bike-ride to be one of your "other fun activities" over the summer. Way to go!

Julia Joined Crew this past Spring

Julia didn't know much about Crew before getting to Middlebury, but thought she'd give it a try. After a winter filled with a lot of training inside in the erg room, and weights and more weights, they finally got to get outside early in the spring, and into the water. She's said that they rowed through Snow, Hail, and all sorts of various Spring weather. All Spring Sports in Vermont have to deal with the weather, but possibly none worse than Crew. This may have been one of our "best" Springs in a long time, but we still had our fair share of downright chilly weather, especially if you're out on the lake in the wee hours of the morning! Here is a link to some pictures of Julia's boat. Way to go, Julia!!

https://www.sportgraphics.com/events/3981/photo_browser?school_id=237&event_leg_id=24536&sculler_id=&commit=Search+Photos

Elissa Donates Hair for Cancer Patients

Sophomore Elissa Goeke has a history of hair donation. After talking with Elissa, I learned that she first donated her hair when she was in the 6th grade. Prior to that, she'd always had long hair, so it was quite a change for her to have 10 inches taken off at once. That first time, she donated to Locks for Love, and the hair was used to make wigs for children who had one of the diseases that causes hair loss.

This past Christmas, she once again donated 10 " of hair. This time it was for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and they have partnered with American Cancer Society to help provide wigs for women fighting Cancer. They use real human hair to create more realistic wigs for cancer patients. Elissa had this to say about why she wanted to donate her hair: "I feel like it's the least I can do for people who are suffering with such debilitating diseases. I read online that it takes about six donations to make a single wig, so I figure I better start growing my hair out again."

What a special gift to give someone. I'm sure your donation is very much appreciated by the women who have lost their hair to one of these diseases, and that's such a wonderful gift to give. I'll bet this won't be the last time Elissa's locks will be given to someone in need. Thanks for sharing, Elissa, not just your hair, but also your story.

(If you notice too, she was wearing her NESCAC Volleyball shirt in the picture! What you don't see is that on the back is a big pink ribbon to promote Breast Cancer Awareness by the Conference Volleyball Teams. Elissa has now taken that awareness into action--twice! Nice job!)

Reisa Graduates on Skis!

Congratulations to Reisa, who is now officially an alum of Middlebury College! The February Graduation is a very special an unique ceremony, culminating with a group "ski" down the Allen run at the College Snowbowl for the entire "Feb Class: 2009.5" As you can see from the close up, Reisa had a big pink scarf on, and was on a snowboard, but I still had trouble finding her amongst the 90 or so graduates in black cap and gown and on various winter sport gear. They snowboard, ski, snowshoe, telemark, ride in a sleds pulled by other classmates etc. It's a very fun atmosphere as family and friends congregate at the bottom of the hill and wait for all the graduates to get to the top of the mountain and then make their way down where we can start to see them. As usual for the Feb Graduation, it was bitterly cold; however, it was also beautiful and sunny. Congratulations, Reisa!!

THANK YOU, SENIORS!!

Well, I am supposed to give out the flowers on Senior Night, not get them! THANK YOU!! It's so great to have four seniors again this year. It's a very special thing to have four players all four years; however, this class is a little different than most. Of the four, each has had a different path to MIDD and to Midd Volleyball. Reisa, our "super-senior" was accepted to MIDD as a FEB. What that means is that she was really a part of the recruiting class before her, but didn't come until February that next year, and thus missed that first season of volleyball. As a Feb, she met the team her first spring and was able to start to get to know them that spring, but didn't actually try out for the team until the next fall, when she met Molly. Molly was a "regular" freshman, and has been on the team with Reisa for four straight years. Both have been ALL-NESCAC Academic selections, and Reisa has also been named to the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Natalie was also a "regular" freshmen four years ago, but we didn't know her then because she didn't think she wanted to play college volleyball. After a hectic club and HS tenure, she figured it was time to hang it up, but, in the end, missed it too much to say goodbye. She played pick-up with the team in the spring of her freshman year, and then decided to talk to me about maybe trying out for the team. Three years later, she's been a consistent starter for us, and currently is in the top 3 in two different categories of MIDD VB records (2nd in service aces per game, and 3rd in digs per game). Not bad for someone who didn't even plan on continuing her volleyball career in college?! And last, but certainly not least, is Mallory. Mallory transferred to MIDD after a year at Emory. She hadn't played there, but was very interested in continuing her volleyball career, and even though I was very excited to have her come to MIDD to play for us, I didn't think she'd get actually get here because we hardly ever take transfers, and hadn't taken more than one or two in the previous few years. Well, needless to say, I was proven wrong, and we did take several transfers that year, and, lucky for us, one of them was Mal!! That's how we have the wonderful, and diverse group of seniors that we now have. Thank you to all of you. You add so much to this team, and your leadership and dedication has been instrumental in the development of the Program.

Two Sport Athlete: Elissa Goeke

Freshmen Elissa Goeke has been a very busy student-athlete so far at Middlebury. She arrived on campus in late August for volleyball pre-season practices, and shortened her Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks for basketball. Now, 7 months into her freshmen year at MIDD, she's finally finding out what it's like not to have practice every day! Congratulations to Elissa on a very successful freshman year so far! Keep an eye on her name in both sports in the years to come! I interviewed Elissa recently, and here is what she had to say:

C: What was it like going from one varsity sport straight into another your freshmen year?
E: Volleyball season ended on a Friday, and I knew the basketball team had a scrimmage on Saturday afternoon. I went to watch them play, but I didn't start practicing until about a week later. The biggest challenge for me was socially, because I didn't know the basketball team as well as the volleyball team. This only lasted for a few weeks, as they were all very nice and welcoming. I'm so lucky to have two groups of friends that I will always know I can go to. On a different note, I remember it being really weird cheering for the first basketball game because I kept wanting to say "Let's go Midd. Side out!", but obviously that doesn't apply to basketball.

C: What are you favorite parts about each season?
E: My favorite part is game day. The best part about game day is the short moment of time after warm-ups before the game actually starts. Especially during a home game, this time just feels so special because I have so much anticipation for the game. I've lost all my nerves during warm-ups, and I cannot wait to play. In addition to home games, I enjoy the periods during the season when I can just focus on playing and bonding with my teammates. During volleyball season, this was during preseason, and during basketball, this was after Christmas break before school starts and during Feb. break.

C: Do you feel that your height at 6'2" was a bigger advantage in one sport over the other?
E: No, but I think I've learned to use my height better in volleyball. That is something that I am trying to improve in my basketball game. I definitely think both sports complement each other. Getting blocks, for example, is my favorite part of volleyball, and it definitely translates to blocking basketball shots as well.

C: What do you miss about both sports when you're not doing them?
E: I still get to play both basketball and volleyball, but sometimes I miss the competition of the games and matches. I miss road trips and spending the night in hotels with my teammates, and I miss most walking down to the gym everyday and seeing my teammates immediately when I walk into the locker room.

C: What did you find was most rewarding about being on two varsity teams, and what was the most challenging?!
E: The most rewarding aspect is obviously having two groups of amazing teammates. I have learned to much from my teammates and coaches. I know in addition to the experiences that I will have gained from playing sports, I will have all of the things I've learned from becoming close with such great girls. The most challenging part is probably balancing sports with schoolwork at certain times, but it is certainly manageable at Middlebury.

C: How has being involved with two varsity teams affected your social life?
E: I have been really lucky socially because I had an easy experience adjusting to college. Especially for volleyball since our season was in the fall, it was so nice to have an automatic group of friends before school even started. This continued as I got to know the basketball team which was great. I'm also lucky because I get along really well with my roommate. She is an athlete as well, so we have a lot in common. It's really fun to get to know people on the various athletic teams.

C: What is the biggest difference for you now, not to be on a team this spring?
E: The biggest difference now is that I have a lot more spare time, especially on the weekends which is weird. I like having more time to do work since this semester is harder for me, but I miss not playing every day and not seeing my teammates as much.

C: What are you most looking forward to this spring?
E: This spring I look forward to taking advantage of different activities that Middlebury has to offer. I've been able to be a fan at several home games which is a lot of fun. I also joined the newspaper staff, and I'm looking for other ways to get involved. Once the weather gets nice, I also want to go hiking and do other outdoor activities that I was never really able to do growing up in a more urban area.

C: Have you decided on a major, or a favorite academic department?
E: I came into college having no idea what I wanted to study. Middlebury was the perfect school for me because I've been able to take a lot of different types of classes. I'm thinking I might want to major in Environmental Studies, but who knows? I've already changed my mind about six times. I also have enjoyed my two Art History classes, which I wouldn't have anticipated. The one I'm taking this semester is called Ancient Games and Their Meanings, and it's so cool to take classes like this one that look at very specific topics with a lot of detail.

C: What would your advice be to other students considering playing two sports in college?
E: Do it! If you like both sports, there is no reason you should have to choose. I would just say pick a school like Middlebury where you can play two sports and still focus intensely on academics as well. I think the balance here is perfect, and I couldn't have asked for a better match.