Two sports, one season, no problem.
Every day, throughout the fall sports season, this scene played out after school for junior Elizabeth Ramsay.
Fresh off a tough cross country practice, she would sprint down the hill to the volleyball court to prepare for upcoming games. Elizabeth decided to double up on sports this season, becoming the school’s only dual-sport athlete in the fall and an indispensable member of both teams.
Although volleyball has always been Elizabeth’s sport, she was drawn to running cross country this year because her brother William has been running for the cross country team. She also ran track last spring.
“I saw that he improved overall and he benefited a lot,” Elizabeth said of her brother. “I could see that he loved it and he was happier because he was running.”
Elizabeth not only enjoyed the runs, but she also wanted to have a chance to compete, which led her to sign up for cross country without hesitation.
But soon a problem came forth: volleyball and cross country are in the same season, meaning there was a conflict. The barrier didn’t stop her as she managed to fit in both without giving up one.
Participating in two sports is undoubtedly challenging. The coaches had to compromise to make sure she gets regular practice for both sports with the limited time given. Also, attending away games and meets can take up a significant amount of time away from the academic day and practices.
“It is a lot of arranging, emailing my teachers, and it is a little bit annoying because I have to do make- up work in all my free periods, but it’s worth it,” said Elizabeth.
Despite the obstacles, Elizabeth found many bonuses from being a dual sports athlete. And her coaches couldn’t be happier.
“Elizabeth is a thinking setter, she thinks about what she does before she does it,” OVS volleyball coach Micah Sitig said. “And she is just overall very athletic, I think that comes from being a two sport athlete.”
For Elizabeth, the two sports are complementary for each other—long-distance running provides exercise and improves her physical fitness, which enhances her performance on the volleyball court.
Carrying on her passion for running, she is looking forward to continuing running in the next track season.
“Volleyball is a blessing, but there are also a lot of benefits with running,” Elizabeth said. “I love both and both are equally important, doing them at the same time definitely tested my time management skills.”