To gain some insight into the student-athlete experience at Holy Cross, we asked a current student for her perspective. Without further ado, here is Madison Smith ’17:
If you’ve been to Holy Cross recently, you can tell that it’s a great time to be an athlete on the Hill! All you have to do is look up by the Hart Athletic Complex– you will see construction workers, cranes, and the beautiful new facilities being built. While the 2016-2017 school year will be my fourth and final year as a student athlete here, I am excited for all those who will go through the life-changing experience that is being a college athlete at Holy Cross! I’d like to take the time to reflect on my own experience on the Women’s Lacrosse team and why being on this team has been such a positive and strong experience for me.
When people ask me my favorite part about being on the lacrosse team, the answer is simple: my 32 best friends, a.k.a. my teammates! There’s nothing better than knowing you have friends all around campus–in different grades, in different majors, involved in a variety of activities–who all want the best for you. I love knowing that when I walk into Dinand Library, Kimball Dining Hall, or the Hogan campus center, I will likely see one of my closest friends.
Next, obviously is the love of the sport. If you are considering playing a college sport–at any school–please be sure that at the end of the day you love what you are doing. Trust me, you’ll be doing it a lot and it won’t always be easy. Thankfully for me I started playing lacrosse in third grade, and have always loved it since! I’m a defender and for me there is no greater feeling than stopping my opponents or getting the ball to your teammate to help your team score. Some days are hard, but I try to take a greater effort to reflect on how lucky I am to simply play the sport I love every single day.
Finally, being a student athlete in general at Holy Cross is an experience like no other. Here on the hill about 20% of students own a big black. For those of you who haven’t experienced a Worcester winter yet, big blacks are the HUGE jackets student athletes are given to survive the winters of the Woo. 1 of out 5 students on this campus is a student-athlete and is sharing in the same experiences that you are. You make friends in class or through other campus clubs, and you see each other in the weight room or on the field. Every team at Holy Cross is connected and supportive–which you can see when sidelines are filled with students showing their support.
Overall, being a student-athlete at Holy Cross is bound to be one of the most rewarding and powerful experiences of your lifetime. You’ll instantly be connected to your teammates, your classmates, and all of the students who have come before you. I can tell you it will take a lot of work to play on the hill, but I also know that it’s worth it.
