All News & StoriesCalling all sports fans!
It is that time of year again in Indiana! With the teams set for the final four (Boiler Up!), we asked team CCA to share about their love (or lack thereof) of sports, including their experience playing sports as a child and/or their favorite team.
Patti, Data and Assessment Specialist
I grew up in the Indiana Dunes and spent time with my friends riding bikes on the hilly roads, ice skating on outdoor ponds, swimming, playing beach volleyball, and skiing. In college, I got recruited to join a co-ed soccer team, despite having never played the sport. The rules required at least two girls to be on the field at all times. We initially had four girls on the team but then two girls stopped showing up for matches. I remember playing both halves with no subs in 90-degree heat – brutal! Once I had kids, I became a volleyball and soccer mom and wrote sports articles about my daughters’ high school teams for the parent news blast. I’m mainly a spectator these days, and enjoy Boiler basketball and women’s world cup soccer.
Rosy, Multicultural Family Engagement Specialist
I did karate at the Boys and Girls Club and kickball at my Catholic elementary school. Karate was fun until they asked me to spar and enter tournaments. I’m a lover, not a fighter (with fists anyway)! I aged out of kickball at the ripe age of 13 so any kickball ambitions after that were flattened. The good ole days.
Lauren, Family Engagement Specialist
Growing up, it was not really an option in my house to play sports. My Dad coached all my sports teams and each season it was on to the next one. From softball to basketball to kickball to volleyball – I dabbled in them all. I played softball through high school and still find myself drawn to sports. I love sharing sports with my kids and am an avid Boilermaker, Colts, and Buffalo Bills fan!
Michelle, Community Engagement Specialist
I didn’t necessarily “grow up” playing sports. However, while attending a volleyball camp the summer before my freshman year, I was asked to try out for our high school volleyball team. I made it and played all four years. I played middle blocker due to my height and I was also a starter! I’m not sure how I would have made it through high school without the sense of belonging the team provided me — high school was rough!
Kristin, Communications and Community Manager
As a Butler grad married to a Butler grad, the month of March holds a special place in my heart. I was in the basketball band, so I was fortunate to call Hinkle Fieldhouse home for four years. My basketball bug began when I was able to travel with the band/team the year that Butler’s men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 25 years. Of course, most Hoosiers know the Cinderella story of what happened in the years that followed – I’ll never forget being in Lucas Oil the game where Butler advanced to the championship game in 2010. The following year, Butler advanced the Final Four (again) the night before I went into labor with my son Marshall. We half-joked that the Butler forward named Marshall was who sent me into labor that night!
Jamie, Family Engagement Specialist
Sports were not in my family’s DNA. Instead, I got involved in Girl Scouts. Spent many of my summers camping and hiking! To this day, I still love to get outdoors for a good hike.
Julie, Program Resource Manager
I grew up playing soccer and joined the tennis and swim teams in high school. By the time I was in high school I did a little bit of everything…soccer, tennis, swimming, show choir, and marching band. As an adult I still love soccer and also enjoy watching hockey!
Sylvia, Program Resource Navigator
While I don’t have a particular team I root for, I enjoy the ambiance of a sporting events! As a high school student, I played on the tennis team. I once tried out for cheerleading, but did not make the squad — but now I cheer on my son from the bleachers watching him play both basketball and soccer.
Sarah, Community Engagement Specialist
I grew up playing soccer, softball, basketball, and swimming! I had a sport for every season because my parents believed strongly in keeping busy. I played soccer and swam in high school but sports injuries changed my plans of playing in college. I am an OSU football fan (O-H!) and love baseball (Go BoSox!).
Lane, Human Resources Navigator
While I have always really enjoyed being outside and active, I’ve never enjoyed competitive sports. I did, however, grow up playing softball with my friends every year. I don’t remember liking it all that much, but my friends did it so it was more fun to join in. Now I love cycling and hiking and have put my softball days behind me.
Mollie, Executive Director
I grew up playing a little bit of everything – soccer, softball, basketball, and volleyball. There wasn’t a girls league for all sports yet, so I played in the boys soccer league and was one of the only girls that played kickball at recess. And yes, I was the kid that loved playing dodgeball in gym class. One of the benefits of going to a small school was the opportunity to play three varsity sports at a younger age against high level athletes, even if it meant getting smoked. My senior year we won basketball sectionals for the first time in our school history, the last year before going to the class system. It wasn’t a state championship, but for a school with only 200 students, it was pretty awesome. As an adult, I still love sports, both playing and watching. Go IU! Go Colts!
Skylar, Administrative Assistant
Growing up, I was not involved in sports at all. My hand-eye coordination is awful. However, I was born a huge Dallas Cowboys fan so you know that loyalty is deep in my DNA!
Allie, Resource and Referral Specialist
I grew up playing little league softball and played softball, volleyball, and rugby in high school. I have a lot of friends that still play rugby and I love going to a match or watching on TV!
