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Clinkscale does
double duty
Elisha Clinkscale says there is good pain and there is bad pain. And the task she is about to undertake falls under the category of good pain.
Clinkscale, a sophomore basketball player at PSA, recently joined the girls’ soccer team, making her the first female dual-sport athlete the school has had.
“I overheard people saying after the first day that they didn’t have enough people and that they needed a goalie,” said Clinkscale, who just recently moved from Putnam to Thompson. “And I thought that I’m not the right fit for that, I’m not the right size. But I played soccer from third grade until eighth grade, so I have experience. They needed more people, so I just decided that I should go and try.”
Clinkscale had some quick doubts at first but those were allayed by her basketball coach, Stephanie Coro, who encouraged her to give it a try and have a great time. Coro said if it proved to be too much, she would be flexible. Soccer coach Jen Bennett, who called her a “natural leader” and “super-coachable,” told her the same thing.
“She loves playing soccer and she wanted to try it,” Coro said. “Why would I ever tell her she couldn’t do it? I think it’s great that she wants to do it. That’s the kind of person she is.”
Clinkscale, a physical combo guard on the basketball team who will play a multitude of positions on the soccer field, knows she’s not the first high school kid to ever play multiple sports. But she recognizes it is different at a prep school, where the sport is year-round with training in the offseason. So if there is a scheduling conflict, basketball practice wins out over soccer practice, but soccer games win out over basketball practice. And on the days there is no conflict, well then, Clinkscale gets to double up.
Those days get a little crazy. Classes go from 8 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., then it’s soccer practice from 3 to 5 p.m., then a quick dinner and rest, then basketball practice from 7 to 9 p.m., then home to do whatever schoolwork needs to be done. There is also AAU hoops on the weekends.
She does not need to double up on the weight room or conditioning drills, which is kind of nice. “Weight room for basketball is normally 6 a.m. or they’ll go the track for conditioning. So I can sleep in a little more than they do,” Clinkscale said with a sheepish smile.
The flexibility from her coaches is a huge help. So too is the nature of her new teammates. There are a number of Brazilian players on the team, including Tais Mota, who said part of their soccer culture is to be welcoming.
“We just want her to join us,” Mota said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re playing bad or well, we wanted to welcome her to the team. But she is playing well and she is fitting in as one of us.”
Clinkscale will continue to assess the situation as the season progress, but she has no inkling of changing her mind.
“It’s a lot, but that’s part of sports,” she said. “If you don’t have the right mindset, you’re not going to get anywhere. If you have a negative attitude about it, and then something negative happens, it’s going to be 10 times worse. If you’re positive and something negative happens, it could still be tough but not nearly as bad as it would otherwise be. Having a positive attitude about whatever you’re doing just makes everything better.”
By Steve Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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