Junior Ava Dahl skates onto the ice in her borrowed goalie gear for the third time in her life. Everything she had just learned from the practices the week before is racing through her mind. As she glides into the net, she glances at the coaches who are grateful for their volunteer goalie.
As the girls hockey team was reaching the end of their season, they found themselves struggling more and more each game due to the injuries of their varsity goalies. After seeing this, Dahl made the decision to join the JV team with no prior hockey experience. She didn’t do it for herself, but for the entirety of the program.
“I have always wanted to play but watching them have to give up games to play made me realize that was something I could volunteer to do, and I wouldn’t have to sacrifice anything besides my time, which was worth it for all the time and memories I created,” Dahl explained.
This is only just one example of Dahl’s outstanding character. Dahl is a natural born leader who is willing to take on any task that comes her way, making her the perfect fit for her leadership roles in the school.
With being captain of both the tennis and soccer teams on top of being on the Spartan Spin leadership board, Dahl takes her roles very seriously and is determined to give everything she has to each one of them. She even took time out of her summer to give private lessons to a few of the underclassmen tennis players, helping them prepare for the upcoming season.
“Ava has helped me by teaching me how to be better with cameras and showing up to everything hockey related; still taking photos while also playing and doing the team activities,” said senior hockey captain Addy Benson.
Her trustworthiness goes unmatched and with her bubbly personality making her easily approachable, everyone can feel comfortable to go to her in times of need. Sometimes, she will go to the extent of staying up late on a school night just to get a Spartan Spin story published on time.
“I try to be nice and supportive so that people feel comfortable coming and asking for help. I work really hard in both spin and my sports, and with that comes knowledge that I feel would be put to waste if I didn’t make an effort to try and pass it on to others,” said Dahl.
Since knowing Dahl since the first grade, I can confidently say that she is one of the most influential people I have met. Her dedication, big heart, and selflessness truly makes her a one of a kind student, athlete, and friend.
