Aimee Terreri recently completed a successful college career at Stonehill on both the soccer field and in the classroom.
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| Aimee Terreri |
By Nick Greene
Courier Sports Writer / September 8, 2011
Sports Person of the Week
Living up to the pressure of a soccer scholarship is difficult,
but maintaining an academic scholarship at the same time might be
near impossible for most. However, that is not the case for Aimee
Terreri, who showed the true potential of a student athlete
during her four years at Stonehill College.
The 2007 Guilford graduate left her hometown and traveled north
to Easton, Massachusetts, where she embarked on a four-year soccer
career for the Skyhawks. For four seasons, Aimee manned the heart
of the field as a central-midfielder, all the while keeping up with
her grades and earning a Division II ADA Academic Achievement
Award. Aimee graduated cum laude and was on the Athletic
Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List all four years of school
while playing in 53 of 55 games from her sophomore year on,
starting 47 times.
"Aimee is a determined and extremely hard-working individual,"
said Stonehill women's soccer head coach Rolando Lopes. "She was a
very dependable and reliable leader on and off the field and just a
terrific person overall."
To qualify for the ADA Academic Award, Aimee had to maintain a
cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, have completed at least four
semesters, and have been an active member of her team during the
previous academic year.
"I was really happy; the award meant a lot to me," Aimee says.
"I always worked hard to get a good GPA because it had always been
important to me to excel in the classroom and on the field. I had a
half athletic and academic scholarship so I would still push myself
to succeed. I felt very accomplished."
Aimee came to Stonehill after a successful four-year soccer
career for the Indians of Guilford. She earned herself All-Southern
Connecticut Conference honors as a senior, as well as being named
the New Haven Register Player to Watch in 2007, gaining
All-State Honorable Mention selection, and participating in the
2007 Senior Bowl. But in those days she played defense, something
that quickly changed when Aimee set foot on her college campus.
"There was a lot more running [while playing midfield]," says
Aimee. "I guess I had always been defensive-minded so it was kind
of hard to switch into a more offensive gear. I was able to work
with the other center-midfielder and we switched back and forth
from defense and offense. I fell in love with the position."
Though the position change from high school to college certainly
had its challenges, there was no denying Aimee was up for the
task.
"She pretty much became a starter as soon as she came to
Stonehill and anchored our defense," said Lopes.
Playing on the Skyhawks for four years certainly created a ton
of memories for Aimee, but none stand out more to her than her
senior season.
"This past year was my favorite year at Stonehill for soccer.
Our team was really close," she says. "I think the things I'll take
with me forever are the relationships with my teammates; they are
my best friends. We all live in Boston now and those are the things
I'm going to remember most, the relationships I formed."
Aimee is also pretty good at remembering how to stay on task and
focused on her school work. As a communication major, Aimee
stressed the importance of striking a balance between academics and
athletics.
"In high school I thought that soccer wasn't as demanding; it
wasn't as much of a time commitment," she says. "College was kind
of wake-up call for me; I learned how big of a time commitment
soccer was. There were team activities, team bonding, practice
three hours a day sometimes more with film, lifting, and a
traveling schedule. It takes up a lot more time and you have to
find out how to manage time well to transition from high school to
college. I learned quickly that the library was my best friend."
There sure was a lot on Aimee's plate, but she wasn't asking to
be excused from the table without finishing what she had committed
to.
"I really [never thought soccer and school were too much],"
Aimee says. "I played sports since maybe I was five so I've been
use to it. I played soccer, basketball, and softball a little bit.
I always had a lot on my plate. Mid-terms and finals were a little
tough, but I managed to get through everything."
While academics and athletics both competed for Aimee's time,
she believes the lessons learned in each area helped one
another.
"I think attention to detail was key. Soccer isn't only physical, there is definitely a big mental aspect; you have to be smart about certain things," says Aimee. "Working hard in school and being hard on myself made me very determined in soccer."
