A love for sports is something that can passed down as it’s natural for mothers and fathers who’ve participated in them to introduce their children to them. Others just happen to gravitate towards sports on their own. Either way, it’s always interesting to hear how athletes got their starts take inspiration from.
Ryan Givens, a junior here at Cabrini University, is a pitcher on the school’s first ever baseball team.
“An athlete I was inspired by and wanted to be like most was the late Jose Fernandez. He played and pitched every game like it was his last. I wear the number 16 because of Jose Fernandez. That was his number for the Miami Marlins. Baseball is a lot like life. It’s a day-to-day existence, full of ups and downs. You make the most of your opportunities in baseball as you do in life. I’ve never seen someone play with so much passion, and carry themselves the way he did on and off the field. The impact he had and made in such a short period of time for all of South Florida, and the City of Miami is truly inspirational,” Givens said.
Sabrina Hackendorn is a junior is a forward on the women’s basketball team.
“I always looked up to and wanted to play like Elena Delle Donne. She’s from my area and is one of the best basketball players, male or female, to play the game. I always admired her work ethic and dedication to the game. She proved to me that with enough hard work and passion that you can succeed. I really love successful female athletes like Serena Williams who show that girls have just as much a place in sports as boys do,” Hackendorn said.
Emily Smull is a pitcher/first base player as a junior here at Cabrini University for our women’s softball team. Smull looked up to many athletes and still does as she continues her softball career here.
“I was madly in love with Derek Jeter as a kid, because I am and always was a huge Yankees fan. I was also a huge fan of Cat Osterman, and Jenny Finch, who were both Olympic softball players. I also look up too Candace Parker, who was/is a pro basketball player who played at Tennessee University. When I was younger, I wanted to play Basketball at Tennessee, so I looked up to Parker, but I also looked up to Osterman and Finch, because I wanted to be an Olympic softball player too.
Today, I personally look up to my teammates. But as far as professional athletes go, I think the USWNT soccer players are all amazing role models with the way they are fighting for equal pay in women’s sports,” Smull said.
Tyree Holmes is a sophomore here at Cabrini University. Holmes is a cross country runner, member of the club hockey team here and on the club lacrosse team.
“Michael Jordan, he was one of the greatest athletes ever. He had such a long career and was consistently great throughout. He didn’t make the basketball team his sophomore year of high school, but he didn’t let that deter him from his love of the game. He just worked longer and harder than anyone else did to make the high school team and become one of the greatest athletes of all time. I want to take that hard work and determination, and put that into everything I do on and off the field. I look up to Greg Keneally now. He was a great lacrosse player in high school and college. He didn’t find success in the pros, but he still found a way to stay connected to the game of lacrosse. In college he started stringing, dyeing and waxing mesh. After college he soon transitioned into making lacrosse mesh, heads, and now shafts. This is what i hope to do. Find a way to stay with the game and hopefully make it apart of my life,” Holmes said.
Senior forward Renee Oliver has just finished her last season on Cabrini University’s women’s basketball team.
“I never really inspired to be like an anyone when it came to basketball. I just wanted to be the best all around player that I could be and reach my full potential. Today, I look up to the former players that came before me and who I got to play with at Cabrini. Also, I am Lebron James biggest fan and I get a lot of motivation and inspiration from him,” Oliver said.
