Female athletes ‘double-major’ in competition

September 10, 2008
By Robert Jackson
Sports Writer

Playing one sport and taking college classes might be tough enough for some, but Kristan Delafeld, Alex Newbern, Jessica Tittsworth, and Jessica Yocum will join Emmarie Snyder as twosport athletes at UIS this year.

Surviving college and playing two sports for some of the athletes has meant trying to find stress relievers, turning to friends and teammates for support, and making phone calls to parents.

Soccer head coach Pete Kowall says the biggest thing Delafeld, Newbern, and Tittsworth bring to the team is their experience playing a sport at the college level. They are familiar with traveling and training, and for a team with a number of inexperienced players on it, the three have been invaluable in that respect, according to Kowall.

Snyder started early with basketball and softball, playing both as a child. Since then, the two sports and all that comes with it have become inseparable.

“I can’t imagine one without the other,” Snyder said. Alluding to “Jerry Maguire,” she joked, “Both of them complete me.”

For both Delafeld and Snyder, off-season training stands out the most between playing multiple sports in high school and multiple sports at UIS.

“I lifted some in high school but not as much as I do here,” Snyder said. Delafeld broke down her schedule, identifying Monday and Tuesday as “insane,” and then picking out little reprieves throughout the week from soccer and softball.

“It’s like when I get free time I don’t know what to do,” Delafeld said. “For one or two hours I just don’t want to do anything.”

Snyder said her day starts at 7 a.m. and doesn’t end until 10 p.m. Both athletes find themselves doing homework on the weekends, but they’ve both done what every college student has done—stay up till 1 or 2 a.m. finishing homework.

When Delafeld simply wants to get away from it all, she just watches the T.V.

To also help cope with some of the stress, both athletes turn to their parents.

“I usually call my dad and complain for a good 20 minutes and then he’ll just talk me down,” Delafeld said. Snyder said her mom reminds her about how much her teammates need her to be at her best and that drives her to continue.

Fellow teammates have also helped out. Snyder said when teammates see her struggle during basketball practice, no one will hesitate to go over to her and pick her up. Snyder also has a sister on the basketball team, Erika.

Emmarie is also driven by a necklace her mom made her, with one of Gilmore’s sayings on the back.

“The necklace says on the back ‘Focus on the process and not on the outcome,’” Snyder said. “It just reminds me to stay focused and not get frustrated.”

Another necklace that Snyder never takes off is one that simply says “Believe” on it. Additionally, Snyder named a basketball Gilmore gave her “Believe.”

“I think it takes a special athlete to handle two sports,” Fisher said. Even if a player chooses one sport over the other eventually, Fisher says it is a win for both the athlete and her former team. “The last thing any coach wants is an unhappy athlete,” Fisher said.

The thought of dropping one sport has crossed both athletes’ minds; For Delafeld it emerges when she goes from one practice to another. But practicing for her clears her mind and lets her forget about everything.

“It’s kind of weird,” Delafeld said of swinging at a ball for one practice and then kicking at it the next. “It’s like switching gears.” Delafeld hopes though that the transitioning goes “smooth.”