Athletes of the Week, November 9, 2007
Peter Abdu has been the inspiration of the boys XC team. No runner on the team trains more hours year-round, or with more discipline and passion than he does. As a competitor, he is calculating and deftly strategic, knowing how to use the terrain and maintaining a cool mental focus when the pack around him goes wild. He has been a patient and diligent student in training his body for the incredible rigors of distant running - learning just what it can handle, it limits, when to push, when to hold back. Mentally and emotionally, he has developed the capacity to push himself to the limit. He leads through humbly supporting others, and lives up to the KUA ethic of “winning without boasting and losing without excuse”. Winning 3 races and finishing 5th overall in the Lakes Region, we are proud to have Peter as a member of the KUA community.
During the past three years as a varsity field hockey player, Sarah Cutts has demonstrated great versatility, playing all over the field as a forward, back and this year as a middie. However in her last three games, she has had a field hockey “epiphany” and has shown dramatic improvement in confidence and all areas of her play. She has been a more effective defender and much more effective carrying the ball, dodging and finding the open offensive player up field. She has made several perfect entry crosses in the offensive circle resulting in several recent Kimball Union goals. She scored her first Wildcat goal of the year and second of her career in the game last Sunday against Kent’s Hill School. Always positive and giving all that she has to her teammates, both emotionally and physically.
Winning and losing in competitive athletics is an interesting dynamic. It’s cumulative effect throughout a season often has a significant impact on the attitude, enthusiasm and work ethic of both players and coaches alike. Ironically, the outcome of a contest is influenced by more factors that we cannot control, than we can control. That being said, it is in my experience, the rare individual who, in difficult times, can look beyond what they cannot control, and bring to bear a positive, sincere and invaluable effort each day in practice and in games. Tess Fournier has been a “pillar of strength” on the JV field hockey team this year. To use the words of her coach, she has been 100% present in every practice – mentally, physically, attitudinally, emotionally - always prepared, on time, helpful and patient. In games she has played with the tenacity, determination and skill of the warrior. From her defender position on the right side, she has prowled the back third of the field with tenacity and determination, always in relentless pursuit of any would be invaders. How fitting that in the last two minutes of the last game of the season, deadlocked in a one all tie with Northfield, she was called out of the defensive end and asked to play attack. Hustling onto the attack end of the field, with less than a minute left, she saw an opening, and without hesitation, drove home the winning goal to seal the victory for KUA!
