Behind the Sidelines of Orange and White
This year, 26 of our beloved SUA Bulldogs will travel to the home of the NDA Pandas to play in our annual Orange and White flag football game. SUA and NDA students play a friendly, yet competitive, game of flag football, with seniors from Covington Catholic and St. Xavier performing cheers at halftime. Here's a look behind the sidelines to get a feel for how our players have been preparing for our big game.
But first, what's the point of Orange and White anyway? Saint Ursula Academy and Notre Dame Academy join together in efforts to fight cancer. SUA student Natalie Bradley was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2009 and passed away shortly after graduation. Game tickets and shirt sales raise money for the Children's Hospital, and awareness for those battling cancer. This annual game has been held for many years since, but has been postponed for the last two due to Covid. Our last game was in the spring of 2019 and our Bulldogs are ready to win!
Senior students participating in this years game are Peyton Allen, Emma Atwell, Katie Birrer, Abby Boeing, Ella Bolinger, Ellie Burns, Ainsley Cahill, Symone Conley, Bryn Connelly, Mary Kate Craft, Anna Frey, Avery Glynn, Lauren Kuhlman, Courtney Loew, Reese Lynn, Charlotte Maliborski, Audrey Peters, Julia Raines, MacKenzie
Reilly, Samantha Roberts, Isabella Rueve, Ingrid Shonberg, Clare Schuerman, Caroline Schulte, Kathryn Schulte, Molly Sprong, Kaitlyn Torbeck, and Ella Weber.
Our girls have been training and preparing for the last month for our big game. Their hard work started with a two day tryout session, including running drills and small practice games. Many of the girls said the tryouts were not very difficult, but had to get used to playing flag football because many had not played before.
Although some students feel that they could have practiced a bit more, they are ready for the game this Sunday. Weekly practices include stretching, running, scrimmages, and drilling routes for different plays that can be made in a game. Experienced St. Xavier football players and adults have been coaching these girls to give it their all for this game.
Athletic skills are imperative, but the girls have said their leadership and teamwork skills have improved and come to play a lot more than expected. Seniors have said they've “grown closer with people that [they] don't talk to as much” and “each of [them] have stepped up as leaders in [their] own way,” whether that be on or off the field. For underclassmen wanting to try out their senior year, it's a great opportunity to exercise, make new friends, and raise awareness for an important cause.
Not only are the players excited, but the students and faculty have been preparing for this game for the past two years. We can't wait to cheer on our bulldogs at NDA!