Season’s Greetings!

The Christmas season is full of hope and optimism as we prepare for the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. Much anticipation is felt on Christmas Eve as young children toss and turn at night thinking of the joyous gifts Santa may bring them. While these presents may bring temporary delight, the true gift we receive through the birth of our Lord is eternal. This, in turn, is the foundation of our optimism.

How Champions Think: In Sports and in Life by Dr. Bob Rotella describes the importance of optimism in a winning mindset. It is an act of faith and choice. While optimism doesn’t guarantee success, it does improve your chances. Student-athletes and students must trust their preparation. When setbacks occur, Dr. Rotella explains how a successful athlete finds hope, a reason to keep believing in themselves to continue working hard. 

Dr. Rotella additionally illustrates how situational optimism allows the subconscious brain to execute. For example, if a basketball player is fouled in the closing minutes of a close game, an optimistic mindset would be: “I’ve got this! I’ve shot hundreds of free-throws in practice and now I get to use this skill to benefit my team.” This form of positive self-talk is a choice - we can control our thoughts! What a difference it makes in physical preparedness to shoot if we think optimistically as opposed to having the detrimental mindset of, “I have to make this."

An optimistic athlete will be calm and trust their subconscious muscle memory versus thinking negatively which increases tension in the muscles. Interestingly enough, when we smile, our body relaxes and kicks in our subconscious brain. This mirrors Christmas in a way as smiles are abundant Christmas morning. How wonderful is it that these smiles help us perform and display our own God given gifts? This trust in our eternal Savior is the true definition of optimism!

This fall has given our Ursuline community many opportunities to celebrate the hard work and success of our student-athletes. Amanda Hogan '22 won the State Cross Country Championship; Devon Vopni '20, All-State runner, earned Academic All-State honors; and Isabella Lopez '20 and Mackenzie Morris '20 both earned Academic All-State for Volleyball.  

In November, six Ursuline student-athletes signed to compete at the next level:

• Rachel Cook (soccer) - Tusculum University
• Mia Krusinski (soccer) - Florida Gulf Coast University
• Isabella Lopez (volleyball) - LaSalle University
• Mackenzie Morris (volleyball) - Kansas State University
• Natalia Walls (volleyball) - St. Edwards University
• Priscilla Wongso (swimming) - Cornell University

We thank them for sharing their talents with Ursuline as they move on, excited to share their talents with their respective universities. 

Finally, our winter sports are underway! Neuhoff Court and Moser Field are teaming with student-athletes that are Bear Strong. There is much optimism in the air and we look forward to an exciting winter season.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas,

Susan Noonan

Susan Noonan
Director of Athletics