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.
EMILY INMAN
Emily Inman, a native of Winston-Salem and graduate of East Forsyth High School, competed in both swimming and lacrosse during the course of her first year at Salem.
Inman began her collegiate athletic career by taking part in six meets for the Spirits' swim team. She competed in an array of events including the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay between Oct. 5 and Feb. 1.
Inman notched her best individual finish of the season, second, at the Pfeiffer Dual when she tapped the wall of the 500 freestyle in a time of 7:57.53. That was one of three times that Inman reached the podium against Pfeiffer, finishing third in a pair of 200 freestyle events on Nov. 9 (2:57.56) and Feb. 1 (2:56.01).
In the spring Inman joined the Salem lacrosse team, logging minutes in three contests against Southern Virginia, Sweet Briar and Greensboro, making two starts along the way. She made her Salem lacrosse debut at Southern Virginia on Feb. 28. The following afternoon, in a tough 11-9 setback to Sweet Briar, Inman made her first career start. She competed in her final game of the season on March 3 at USA South Conference foe Greensboro.
Inman recently sat down to discuss competing in both swimming 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?
INMAN: Being a multi-sport athlete has given me the opportunity to continue the team aspect in both lacrosse and swimming, building trust between my teammates and the leadership skills to become a better athlete goes hand in hand for both sports. Playing two different sports help your mindset as well, being able to have both perspectives helps when you're in a game or competing in a meet.
What is the most difficult thing about transitioning between sports and sport seasons as a multi-sport athlete?
INMAN: For me, I think it was learning the team and how we all played on the field together. I have been swimming since I was eight-years-old so I knew how swim meets went, but the transition to then being on the field, learning about the game and how my teammates played on the field took a little bit more.
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?
INMAN: My older sister and I grew up playing sports, I did cheerleading for a year, we both played basketball, then tried soccer, and then finally swimming. We loved to race each other in the pool after swim practice and that was something I never really grew out of, wanting to win. Winning is not everything but it is a lot more fun when you get competitive in your sport.
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)?
INMAN: Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Kobe Bryant, and Abby Wambach. And of course my family and teammates throughout the years whose support has continuously motivated me.
What is your most memorable moment in each sport that you have competed at while at Salem and why?
INMAN: In swimming, it would have to be our first home swim meet because we were in our home pool, we had the support from our Salem family and many others, and I feel like we all did really well collectively as a team that day. I feel that we will only continue to grow and become stronger as a team.
In lacrosse, it would be our first home game because of the energy and intensity of that gameday. Although our season got cut short, we still had so much more to prove and remembering that game was special for me.
How does swimming help you in bettering your game on the lacrosse field?
INMAN: For me, I feel that it helps me keep a more centered mindset because swimming is more of an individual sport, remembering how to keep yourself somewhat grounded during a game has helped.
Additionally, how does playing lacrosse benefit you when you swim?
INMAN: Being team oriented and depending on trusting your teammates on the field has helped better me as a teammate in the pool. Swimming and lacrosse are definitely two completely different sports and have very different aspects to them, but they do share some of the same team aspects, in both sports leaning on your teammates is so important.