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.
RACHEL BLACK
Black, who competed in both soccer and swimming during the course of her first year, was a key contributor in Salem reaching the semifinals of the USA South Soccer Tournament in November. During her first year, Black ranked in the top-10 of four major statistical categories including goals (three—t-5th), assists (two—t-6th), points (eight—t-6th) and total shots (18—8th) while attempting 13 shots on goal during the course of the season.
After dishing out her first assist of the season in a 5-4 win at Covenant on Sept. 7, Black tallied her first goal of the season against Emory & Henry just five days later. In her third start of the slate, Black responded by scoring one goal and adding an assist in a 4-0 triumph against Averett (Oct. 5). Exactly one week later, she came through with her third and final goal of the season as the Spirits completed a 3-1 victory over USA South foe N.C. Wesleyan.
Upon completion of the soccer campaign, Black joined the Salem swim team, where she competed in five meets between Nov. 16, 2019 and Feb. 1, 2020. The Youngsville, N.C., native raced in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay events, earning six Top-5 individual finishes along the way.
Black reached the podium on two occasions as an individual during her first year, placing third in both the 100 backstroke (Greensboro / Virginia Wesleyan Dual) and the 50 freestyle (Pfeiffer Dual). She was also a key contributor on the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay units for Salem, resulting in four Top-3 finishes, including a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay at the Pfeiffer Dual. Alongside teammates Corrin Shores, Alison Wakefield and Olivia Kleven, Black and the Spirits touched the wall first in a time of 2:06.61.
Black recently sat down to discuss being a multi-sport athlete at Salem and provided the following responses:
How has being a multi-sport athlete been advantageous to you when competing against others?
Black: Playing multiple sports allows for physical advantages that other opponents might not have. For example, going straight from soccer to swimming worked well because I was in shape endurance wise which allowed for me to enter practice almost near the pace of the other swimmers. My soccer physique also helped being in the water regarding using my leg muscles and arms muscles that were built up during soccer season. Swim also helps for soccer because it gives my muscles the fluidity they need that other soccer players may not have or may not work on. The water opened my muscles up and was physical rehab for any injuries I had (for example my ankle that had a deep bone bruise and sprain was rehabbed in the pool pretty quickly).
What is the most difficult thing about transitioning between sports and sport seasons as a multi-sport athlete?
Black: I would say the most difficult thing was getting used to the change in my schedule. Soccer practice was every day from 3-5 in the afternoon, games being on Tuesday, Thursdays and the weekends whereas swim was every morning from 7-8:30 in the morning with meets on Fridays or Saturdays. I had a routine down regarding getting my homework done at night after soccer practices because I did not have to get up very early, but with swim I had to find more time throughout the day to get my work done rather than all at night because I had to keep in mind I had to get up at 6:30 a.m. and get my rest. It also took my body some getting used to regarding waking up that early every morning for three months straight. After about two weeks I got into my routine and found it pretty easy going from there, but the hardest part was the transitioning of schedule and sleep pattern.
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?
Black: I would definitely say my competitive nature comes from how I was raised, especially being an only child. My mom used to swim in high school and now (even at age 51) still rides horses competitively.
My dad played football and swam in high school and has grown up immersed in the competitive nature of Buffalo New Yorkers and the kids/older brother he grew up around. All of the attention has always been on me from my parents and they have both raised me to give 100% in all that I do. My competitive nature is more based upon my performance personally. I want to do my best and when I let my team down or don't perform as well as I know I am capable of, that is when I get into my head and want to do better and work harder. I am not focused on winning and have been taught to not be a sore loser, my competitive spirit is me vs. everyone else rather than wanting to win every single game or every single meet. As long as I know I am giving it all I can and did the best I could on the field or in the pool, I can leave the game or meet content despite the outcome (but of course winning is always cool too, don't get me wrong!)
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)?
Black: I would definitely say my dad is a huge motivation for me as an athlete. He has immersed me in sports since I was 9 years old and has always been there to help me practice whether it was on the court, field, track or pool. He is someone who believes in me more than I believe in myself and is someone I can always count on to get me in the right headspace and take the pressure or stress off of myself. I love making him proud and doing stuff in the game and in the pool that we worked on in practice and have it pay off during the real thing.
My teammates also motivate me every single day to be the best version of myself. We go through everything together, blood, sweat and tears and without them none of it would be worth it. The team bonding and family feeling I get from my teammates is something that makes me want to try even harder to make them proud and work hard for them because I know they work hard for me. I have never in my 10 years of playing soccer been on a team that has felt like family as Salem soccer has. I go through so much with these girls and I know they have my back just as much as I have theirs.
What is your most memorable moment in each sport that you have competed at while at Salem and why?
Black: The most memorable moment for me in soccer was when I scored my first college soccer goal at home and I ran back to the circle with my arms up celebrating and the team all tackled me with a huge hug, the coaches and players on the bench were screaming, and the entire sidelines of parents and salem students were screaming as well. What makes it even better is there is a video and many pictures capturing the moment that I cherish to this day!
The most memorable moment for me during swim was one practice I stayed after for 45 minutes and worked on my backstroke start by myself, and at the next meet I dropped my 100 backstroke time by eight seconds, I was so proud of myself for finally getting the start and backstroke down and for dropping my time in not only my solo event but the 200 medley where I swam the backstroke as well.
How does swimming help you in bettering your game on the soccer field? Additionally, how does playing soccer benefit you when you swim?
Black: Playing multiple sports is also good on the psyche because you know that all of your hard work is not going into just one sport, just one team, and just one coach but it will also be useful down the road when your next season begins with a new group of girls, a new sport with new challenges and motivations and new coaches. This can build one's confidence and put their mind at ease knowing that no matter what their season will continue and they can focus on that next sport if they did not have the best season in their previous sport or vice versa. For me, my two sports are almost completely opposite of one another. Soccer is more team based whereas it's really only me against the other swimmers (unless I am in a relay) which really helped me because I learned that in soccer I do not have to be so hard on myself when it comes to my performance and that sometimes we have good and bad days. Swimming taught me how to get out of my head and just go do my best and do what I know needs to be done, which translated very well onto the field for me.