Thomas Woodville ’17, Alex Burman ’16: Taryn Gallagher ’14 has been a competitor all her life. Never taking a season off, the Churchwoman has been playing field hockey, squash, and lacrosse for seven years, and has earned leadership positions as the captain on the girls’ squash and lacrosse teams. Though fond of squash, she states that field hockey and lacrosse are her two favorites, and she could never pick which one she liked more. The Haverford resident will continue to play lacrosse for Yale University next year, dropping squash and field hockey. However, she has played a key role in all three sports as she won the Mind, Body, Spirit prize for field hockey as a testament to her efforts on the field and in the classroom.
Photo courtesy of Taryn Gallagher ’14
Gallagher most enjoys being on a team, stating, “I really like the feeling of being part of a team sport and having to work with other people towards a common goal.” Gallagher firmly believes that each of her sports help her perform in the others. She says that without squash, she would not be as successful in field hockey or lacrosse. Squash has given her abilities and lessons that she would not have learned in field hockey or lacrosse and can still use to her advantage in those sports. She emphasized the idea of playing many different sports, team and individual, as they all teach you different lessons. Gallagher said that team sports have taught her the ability to communicate well with others and individual sports have given her mental strength and stability. These lessons she learns not only helps her in the sport she’s playing but also other sports as she states, “These lessons overlap in all three sports I play.” She said that in field hockey and lacrosse, her strength is the ability to be fast and agile. Gallagher stated, “I would say speed definitely attributes to my success. I love playing all three positions in both lacrosse and field hockey so my versatility helps too.” She says that every coach that she has talked to has said that the key to field hockey is speed and agility, because, “[they] are two important skills that are unteachable, you can only obtain them through hard work.” Gallagher’s success has mainly come from hard work and determination, but she also attributes her success to her parents. She stated, “My parents have always been supporting me and have been my biggest fans my whole life.” Gallagher also said that each team and club coach has given her a skill the previous one didn’t give her, and they have accumulated to give her the knowledge she has today.