Student Athletes Show Their Skills

Maggie Andrew/The Mirror

We knew they could run and throw a ball, but who knew student athletes also have moves?

The crowd at Alumni Hall found out just how talented Fairfield’s own student athletes are last Saturday night, when the sports teams gathered for the Second Annual Student Athlete Talent Show. The creative, entertaining and even provocative acts benefitted a good cause, with the proceeds going to offset the cost of treatment for Emily Tredwell, a young girl born with a disease that causes one leg to be shorter than the other.

A donation of $2 at the door helped the teams reach their goal of raising $2,000 for Tredwell’s treatment, a considerable sum since she began to see a specialist in Florida. Raffle tickets were also given out, with prizes such as tickets to a taping of Good Morning America, seats at Harbor Yard Arena, merchandise from the bookstore and other apparel.

The athletes were most eager for a different kind of prize: a coveted get-out-of-jail-free pass with the athlete’s strength and conditioning trainer, Mark Spellman, who also served as a judge for the Talent Show. After an intense bidding war, the volleyball team won the time off at the price of $200.

The athletes could argue they are all deserving of some time off, though, after the hours of brainstorming and practice that went into their performances. Fr. Doody, the director of Campus Ministry, and Chris Huntley, an NCAA representative, joined Spellman in judging the talented teams.

Lucas the Stag started off the night by dancing to a medley of songs, the first of many choreographed numbers combining current music with past classics.

Men’s Baseball was the first team to perform, dancing to their own rendition of a ladies’ workout, complete with colorful spandex and the enthusiasm of Richard Simmons.

The Field Hockey team was arguably the most creative performance of the night, acting out the classic video game Super Mario. One player sat with an oversized controller while another acted as Mario, jumping to collect the coins and kicking the turtles that were carried by girls dressed in black in front of a dark sheet.

The sounds and props convincingly depicted the gaming experience, which ended with the defeat of a green-vested “Bowser,” Mario jumping to the top of the pole and finally carrying away Princess Peach.

Women’s Soccer, the team that adopted Emily’s cause, brought the young girl onto the court to introduce her before their dance performance to hits including ‘N Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

The Volleyball and Softball teams put a new twist on the competition by teaming up to dance to a number of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s most popular songs.

Hayley Moyer ’14, a volleyball player, shared the details behind their joint act. “We spent two hours the week before choreographing the entire thing, then recorded a video so we could practice in our rooms and we had two dress rehearsals … We’re all really close, so it was funny to do the dance as guys while they were the girls.”

And the girls weren’t the only ones showing off their moves. The guys made the audience go crazy with acts ranging from Bieber fever and a surprising striptease.

The Men’s Cross Country team performed Justin Bieber’s hit “Baby,” pulling a “mystery girl” from the audience and performing an impressive routine to seduce her.

The Men’s Soccer finished up the night with one of the most unexpected routines. They slowly shed their ties, shirts, belts and pants, revealing a lot more than the Tredwell family, laughing in the stands, expected.

The Cross Country team must have made “Beliebers” out of the judges, though, and they were awarded the trophy for Talent Show champions for the second year in a row. The Field Hockey team and the Men’s Soccer team were awarded second and third, respectively, but Emily and her family were the night’s biggest winners, with around $2,100 raised for their cause.

Ivey Speight ’12 hosted the event, and was thrilled with what the event was able to accomplish. “I’ve never seen such student support at Alumni Hall before. It was a very powerful moment when Emily was there on the court. You can raise money for charity, but when you see her there, everything really connects.”