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How Sports Affected My Life, From PCA Staff Member Kelly Kratz

by Kelly Kratz

02.06.2019

NCAA Division I Field Hockey (4 yrs), Lacrosse (3 yrs) , Track & Field (1yr) @ St. Joseph's University

Multi-sport athlete growing up: Gymnastics, Field Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse

How has being a woman playing sports affected your life?

I think as a woman playing at a high level I have gained confidence in the face of adversity. I have learned that in sports and life you get out of it what you put in, and to really accept feedback and coaching from those that are better than you. I have NEVER been afraid to try something new and I am always looking for ways to make things Better. I know these are lessons that I learned from sports!


Tell us a story about an extraordinary achievement you've had in sports.

I was a 3 sport athlete in HS. It was difficult for me to pick a sport to play in college because I loved them all. I was given a scholarship for Field Hockey to St. Joe's and started as a Freshman. I truly loved playing basketball and lacrosse in HS and petitioned the school to allow me to play inter-mural basketball my freshman & Sophomore year. The track coach at St. Joe's had watched me play FH and asked if I would consider being a sprinter and hurdler on the Track team. I had never ran track! It was an amazing experience to be a 'new' track athlete at a D-1 School who had to be 'taught' how to start, and run properly and jump over hurdles! The team was so supportive and I really grew as an athlete and a person. I qualified for the Atlantic 10 championships in the 4x100 relay and the 400 hurdles that year. By my Jr. Year, SJU added an NCAA Men’s and Women's lacrosse team. I 'walked on' to the team and was the starting center midfielder both years and captain Senior year. This was another growth experience as we went from a 'club' team to a D-1 NCAA team. We played all of the biggest and best schools in the league. Penn State, Univ of VA, Georgetown, Temple, Drexel, Rutgers, U Mass etc. We had to keep the culture positive and focus on improvement rather than scoreboard because that first season we lost almost every game. By my Senior year we had a 500 season and made it to the Atlantic 10 playoffs.