February 4, 2019
By Claire Pak
If anyone’s going to get a three pointer in soccer or a home run in basketball, it’s Elizabeth Stump. As a junior, Stump is already a member of three varsity teams at Lexington High School: soccer, basketball and softball.
Managing just one season of varsity athletics can be difficult, given rigorous daily practice and game schedules.
For Stump, that means time management is a crucial challenge.
“I learned early that it is so important to utilize my time in school so that outside of school I have time for my sports, friends and family,” Stump said. “I have to make sure I have my priorities straight, while giving each important part of my life some of my time.”
Stump started early. She has played soccer and softball for twelve years, and basketball for ten. She attributes some of her success to her athletic family and the high school players she worked with as an elementary and middle school student.
“I don’t think I look up to anyone in particular as a role model. I know that when I was a young kid and I went to the clinics led by the high school players, I would always see them and think that I wanted to be like them,” Stump said. Now a mentor to younger athletes, it’s seems like she’s come full-circle.
Despite the physical and mental challenges of playing varsity sports for the entire school year, being a member of three separate teams has been gratifying for Stump, and has taught her important lessons about failure and teamwork.
“Playing three sports has been an amazing part of my life. I walk down the main hall and am able to say ‘Hi’ to so many people because of the bonds I have made with my teammates. If I didn’t play sports, I would know a lot fewer people,” Stump said.
Stump’s motto might be ‘Work hard, play hard.’
“It can be really easy to get caught in the monotony of working out every day and prepping for the season, but when a person has fun they perform their best,” Stump said.
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