North Carolina State University Athletics
Sisterhood with Allison: Welcome to the Pack
8/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
By: Allison Barry
Allison is one of three seniors on this year's Wolfpack women's tennis team. Throughout the year, Allison, Lauren, and Agustina will be posting weekly blogs about what it is like to be a member of a Division I athletic team including personal insights on competition and experiences shared amongst the team. The blog's title, Sisterhood, has an important meaning to the team. Each player does not only consider themselves teammates but part of a sisterhood where they will learn to share four years of their lives with other student-athletes from all around the world who enjoy playing tennis and having the opportunity to be part of the Wolfpack.
Familiar faces are returning for another season and new faces are welcomed. Tennis’s fall season has begun and not only is it a new year for me but it is also my final year as a collegiate student-athlete. But I am privileged to share this final year with my two fellow senior teammates Lauren Barry and Agustina Arechavaleta. We all have experienced life from this dual perspective of a student and as an athlete and now we are going to be reporting to you as such with a week by week review of what we are thinking and doing as we are going through our daily routine on the court, on the track, in the weight room, and in the classroom.
This past week has been an adjustment for all of my teammates, but the most adjustment is given to the three freshmen on the team. Daria Petrovic, Kristen Bleakley, and Berkeley Brock have been moving into dorms, meeting many new faces, finding their way around a new city, and learning to be on their own for the first time. They are also being given many opportunities and with that come obligations and commitments right here at NC State. But one thing the freshmen know within this first week is that is they are not alone.
Together the team is becoming closer as we are spending time together on and off the court to learn more about each other's lives up until this point. This team bonding is not something that freshmen tennis players are used to all that much since junior tennis in high school is more of an individual sport with individual travel schedules and match times; while college tennis is also considered an individual sport, it is also a team atmosphere linked by the common team goal of being the best team in the conference. As Coach Hans Olsen always says, “Without one person in practice, the team is not complete. We should feel each other’s presence each and every day.” This presence is both a comfort to know that we are becoming a family, a sisterhood of tennis players, and motivation to be yourself and do your best.
Within the first few days, I hope to prove something great with this year’s team. What I want the freshmen to see is that they will find more drive in their minds and more energy in their legs then they could have ever anticipated. It comes from the adrenaline of playing college tennis and from the inspiration around them.
Day one of workouts:
This past Monday, we met in the tennis center lounge to discuss our expectations for the year and ways to bring together team unity and team strength. The fall is known for its gradual increase in weights, running, and tennis competition which prepares us for the spring season when we play against conference teams; therefore, we needed to let everyone know by reminding the returnees and teaching the newcomers, that the word “PACK” that we use, nearly 50 times a day, is a term of great importance and signifies such expectations of team unity and team strength.
Once we finished our team talk, we drove from the tennis courts to the track. Still as a senior this drive gives me knots in my stomach. Why? I am up for the challenge. I am prepared for this. I have a team to support me. I am not alone. So I try to welcome these nerves. I just hope the freshmen learn fast that even after three years of being on the team, I still get my nerves shaken and my heart pounding thinking of the unexpected practice ahead, but then I also remember what the nerves mean and in air I will hear my teammates screaming “GO PACK.”
