University athletes put in hours of work every week in order to train, travel and perform.
This can be stressful because athletes have to balance athletics with school and life. For many athletes, the love and passion for their sport is what drives them.
Three Dalhousie University athletes talked to the Dal Gazette about how they fell in love with their sport and what they love about being a Dal Tiger.
Amanda Bowles, Women’s Soccer
Position: Defender
Year: 5
Major: Kinesiology
How old were you when you started playing soccer?
I was five when I started playing soccer. I started off playing in a house league because my parents wanted to expose me to a variety of sports.
How/why did you fall in love with soccer? Is there a cool story behind how you started playing soccer or did you discover it by accident?
I fell in love with soccer because of my parents’ influence and growing up and I was good at it, which made it more fun. I also love playing on a team and being outside. Growing up in Ontario, the summers are beautiful so it’s great to be outside and playing soccer.
What do you love about being a Dal Tiger?
Tim Maloney, our athletic director always talks about how the Dal Tigers are a family and that’s how I felt about my team. Coming from Ontario, it was great to feel welcomed. Our team would have potlucks and Thanksgiving dinners, which really made me feel like I was a part of a family.
Shiloh Johnson, Men’s Track & Field
Year: 4
Major: Engineering
Specialty: Mid Distance
How old were you when you started running?
I was 13 when I started running. I was living in Oklahoma City at the time and my soccer friends wanted to train over the summer in preparation for the season.
How/why did you fall in love with running? Is there a cool story behind how you started running or did you discover it by accident?
I discovered running by accident. Soccer was my favourite thing, my soccer friends decided to run so I joined them and discovered that I was good at it, so I kept up with it.
My friends said that we want to cross-train for soccer so we decided to join the cross-country team. I did that and fell in love with it. I love the team atmosphere and the sense of camaraderie within the running community.
What do you love about being a Dal Tiger?
I love the community aspect of being a Tiger. We all socialize together and go and support each other’s events. The Tiger community has become a family over the years; it’s a really tight knit community.
Savanna Jordan, Women’s Cross Country & Track & Field
Year: 1
Major: Kinesiology
Specialty Endurance
How old were you when you started running?
I was 13 when I started running. It was towards the end of grade seven.
How/why did you fall in love with running? Is there a cool story behind how you started running or did you discover it by accident?
I discovered running mostly by accident. I tried a lot of sports, but I was never coordinated enough to do basketball or any of those types of sports. I just tried out for the running team, it was a no-cut team. I tried it out and I really liked it, each year I came back and tried it again, it was really fun. I didn’t commit to a team or anything until the end of grade eight.
What do you love about being a Dal Tiger?
I love the team. Everyone looks at cross country and track as an individual sport, but I wouldn’t still be doing it if it wasn’t for the team. I love the environment and the community of the Dal Tigers. The whole team is so supportive, it makes it easy to go to practice. Moving across the country (she is from Calgary) has been easier because there’s a guaranteed support group before I got here. I can always turn to someone from the team and ask for help because they’ve been there and done that.
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