This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Franco Thrives on the Soccer Field and in Track and Field at SHA

Throughout the last few years, North Haven resident Olivia Franco has proved an exceptional performer with the three teams she plays for at Sacred Heart Academy (SHA). Olivia, a senior, is a member of the girls’ soccer team at SHA, and she also does the hurdles and jumping events for the school’s indoor and outdoor track squads.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was five. During 8th grade, we had a track and field introduction, and hurdling was something brought up then,” Olivia says. “Ever since then, I wanted to do it and started my freshman year.”

Olivia grew up as a midfielder on the soccer pitch, but transitioned to forward once she got to high school. The move turned into a great one for Olivia, who was among the team leaders for both goals and assists during her time at Sacred Heart Academy.

“I liked being up top and seeing the play more than developing it, so it felt like a better fit for me,” Olivia says. “We have great chemistry. We all worked well together, so it’s easy to get assists and goals with this team.”

As a member of SHA track, Olivia saw immediate success in the highly technical event that’s the hurdles. Olivia learned a lot from one of her upperclass teammates and promptly got with the program at SHA. She says that the 300 hurdles is her favorite event.

“Personally, I was lucky that I had an older girl who was very good explaining everything to me. I was very close with her and learned really easily,” Olivia says. “It’s a lot of technique that you have to get down, but we worked together on a lot of drills. By doing them, I built up my muscles to perform better. When other people become fatigued, my body is moving faster.”

Olivia has contributed to a pair of school records in hurdles relay events at Sacred Heart Academy. In the 3x100, Olivia’s trio holds the record with a time of 53.5 seconds. Olivia is also a member of a school record 4x100 hurdles relay that recorded a time of 1:15.38. At this winter’s SCC West Sectional Championship, Olivia finished second in the 55-meter hurdles and placed sixth in the long jump.

Pat Redding, the head coach of indoor and outdoor track at SHA, praises Olivia for how she performs in her events, as well as the way she goes about helping the team’s younger athletes get acclimated to track.

“In track, there are so many technical events, so it takes several years to learn and figure out how to do it. It’s always great to see young kids take to it well and, throughout the course of her career, she took it real well and was competing at a high level. Last year, she was the highest scoring person on our team,” says Redding. “Now, she helps the younger girls. I’ll send her to teach the girls how to do the drills. It takes a special kid to communicate that with the girls and she’s just that kind of kid.”

Olivia was a captain for SHA’s indoor track team this winter and will reprise that role with the outdoor squad this spring. Olivia loves being a captain and feels that she thrives with the extra responsibility. Olivia is also a member of the National and Science honor societies at Sacred Heart Academy.

“I love it because track is such a big part of my life. I’ve been close with my captains over the years, so it was a big honor to follow in their footsteps. Track is a large family and it’s great to see everyone participate,” Olivia says. “I like as a captain that I’m not just paying attention to the top runners—everyone gets attention from the captains and coaches. I just really enjoy leading everyone, and I’ve become more organized because I have to keep track of all these people and become more attentive to people’s needs.”

Aside from the hurdles, Olivia competes in the long jump during the winter and the triple jump in the spring. While she’s yet to determine where she will go or what events she’ll specialize in, Olivia knows that she wants to continue her track and field career at the next level.

“I’m looking at St. Joe’s and Roger Williams. For the past few years, I thought I wanted to play soccer in college, but I realized that hurdles and jumps was something I wanted to continue,” says Olivia. “I started looking around at colleges I’d be able to jump and hurdle at. They are both great options for school and track, so I’ve been trying to go more in depth with them and hopefully be able to compete.”