Their names are peppered throughout sports history—Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, Jim Thorpe, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Lolo Jones and Marion Jones. They are multi-sport athletes that took their talents to the world's stage and achieved success at the highest level.
There are several factors that attribute to someone's success in being a multi-sport athlete—raw athletic talent, desire to compete at the highest level, hard work and dedication to the craft and simply the love of sport itself. Other factors in being a multi-sport athlete that should also be taken into account range from—immense wear and tear on the body, physical and mental fatigue and career burnout.
Sanders, who was a dual sport standout for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves, once made a unique double dip by playing in both an NFL game for the Falcons and the National League Championship Series for the Braves on the same day. "Both of them were important," said Sanders of the games. "Both games were important. It's a game. There's fans. There's teammates. There's family. Everything. Every time you compete, it's important."
Salem College has eight student-athletes competed in multiple sports over the course of the 2019-20 season—Rachel Black, Maria Ferrer, Emily Inman, Hope Morrison, Corrin Shores, Lauren Holman, Amy Stutzer and Isabella Verdicchio. Over the course of the next two weeks we are going to analyze the careers of Salem's multi-sport athletes.
MARIA FERRER
Maria Ferrer, a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., was a member of the Salem cross country and lacrosse teams during her first year on campus. She competed in four of Salem's seven meets during the 2019 cross country slate. Ferrer made her collegiate debut at the Greensboro XC Invitational on Sept. 28. Among NCAA Division III competitors in the event Ferrer placed 12th with a time of 28:14.44.
Two weeks later she returned to action at the Livingstone College Invitational (Oct. 11) and posted a collegiate-best time of 27:46.10 as she placed 45th. Salem then made the short trek to Kernersville, N.C., taking part in High Point University's Vertcross Invitational, where Ferrer crossed the line in a time of 32:24.32. In the final race of the 2019 season, Ferrer logged a time of 33:32.64 at the USA South Cross Country Championships.
Ferrer capped off her first year at Salem by joining the lacrosse team. In the abbreviated lacrosse season, which consisted of just seven games, Ferrer made six starts and forced five caused turnovers as a midfielder. Anyone that saw the Spirits' lacrosse unit first-hand over the course of the 2020 campaign would see Ferrer constantly talking with coaches Emma Rose and Emma Rufolo on ways to improve her game on the field.
"Maria is a consistently hard worker, and eager to learn," Rose said of her play. "Maria's aggressiveness on the field is surprising, and she always does exactly what we ask of her. Her level of energy, and overall joy to be playing the game of lacrosse is contagious!"
She recently sat down to discuss competing in both cross country and lacrosse at Salem this season and provided the following answers:
How has being a multi-sport athlete been advantageous to you when competing against others?
FERRER: It has not only helped me be more competitive but also has helped me be able to communicate with my teammates and know that when you work together with others and support each other you better results.
What is the most difficult thing about transitioning between sports and sport seasons as a multi-sport athlete?
FERRER: Lacrosse and cross-country are both alike because you have to have endurance. But going from running independently and not really having to talk to anyone to playing with a stick and having to communicate and having to not only play for yourself but a team is kind of hard. Most of all you have to meet more people and have to get along with two teams meaning you have to manage communicating with both of your couches and teammates.
Obviously anyone who is playing multiple sports loves to compete at the highest level. Describe a little bit where your competitive nature comes from when you compete?
FERRER: My competitive nature comes from me growing up with two brothers who I grew up playing with and everything we did we would compete to demonstrate who was better. And usually the loser always had a punishment and it would be doing usually the winners chores.
Who is someone (or possibly a number of people) that you find motivation from as an athlete or possibly even a non-athlete (ex: parent, grandparent, relative)?
FERRER: My family is of course one of my biggest motivations. They motivate me to not only be a better person but also a team player and not to be shy to speak up and that sometimes we all need critique from a player of a couch to help us do better.
What is your most memorable moment in each sport that you have competed at while at Salem and why?
FERRER: One of my favorite moments is racing along with Lupita Uribe because not only did she tell me about cross country but was my running body on most of our races pushing each other not to give up.
For Lacrosse it was the first days of practice because I found out that Isabella as well was a first time player and just seeing a familiar teammate helped me not feel to sacred trying a new sport.
How does competing in cross country help you in bettering your game on the lacrosse field?
FERRER: It helps me have more endurance and last a whole game without getting exhausted.
Additionally, how does playing lacrosse benefit you when you are competing in cross country?
FERRER: It helps me have better communication skills and as well more movement when running.