Whitney on Whitney: 'I was the team mom'
By Tom Hill
Erin Whitney, a champion in not just one but three sports, is The Fauquier Times-Democrat’s first-ever Highland School Girls Athlete of the Year.
Whitney’s versatility, spunk, enthusiasm and talent contributed to her success as a Hawk volleyball, basketball and softball player.
A lifelong athlete, Whitney got her start in elementary school as an aspiring gymnast. But before she could advance to complete her first back handspring, she was recruited by another mom to play basketball, and the match was made.
Ever since that third-grade experience, Whitney has been a passionate athlete, going out for new sports like volleyball and softball. It was this enjoyment of team sports that drove her to try out for the Highland girls varsity basketball team four years ago.
“She is a one-of-a-kind young lady, so positive and upbeat,” said Highland basketball and softball coach Donald O’Meara, “Erin is always encouraging everyone around her. I have had so many great experiences with this young lady on the court and the field.”
O’Meara recalled that the first time he met her was at a summer workout with her mother. He describes an Erin Whitney who was far from the outgoing, gregarious free spirit her teammates came to know.
“I just remember her being this quiet little girl that was scared to death. Man, how she changed,” O'Meara said.
Whitney agrees the decision to try out was a little intimidating, at the time.
“I was this 5-foot-7 girl, bony, no muscles at all, and I was so nervous because Coach O’Meara was this 27-year-old who ran practices like a college team.”
But Whitney jumped in head first and became a spirited contributor on her way to becoming a boisterous, gung-ho leader.
“That first year was really the time when we came together as a team,” she said. “That was the year that Anna Ringer died [in a car accident], and it was a hard time with [basketball teammate] Lauren D’Urso being in the crash. We didn’t really know how to handle it.”
Whitney praised O'Meara for his handling of the tragedy.
“The day after the accident, Coach pulled us into a circle and told us about how he had lost one of his friends in a car accident, as well. Even though we didn’t end up losing Lauren, it was still really the first time I came to trust him as a coach.”
That trust has certainly paid off...See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.