Heather Leigh Albert (May 1972 - November 1993) of New Hope, PA was an extraordinary person and athlete. More important was her spirit and attitude about her family, friends and life. Heather attended Germantown Academy and was a graduate of Perkiomen Preparatory. She was recruited by the great Dianne Geppi-Aikens and attended Loyola before transferring to Villanova University. Even at her young age she was a wonderful motivator and teacher and used her talents to coach at The Lawrenceville School and Notre Dame de Namur.
“She had an infectious spirit about playing sports. She was all about experience, success and fun.”
The word "unique" is used frequently to describe the game of lacrosse. However, I think the word more aptly applies to lacrosse players -- rather than the game itself. The players are unique in that they are usually interested in many sports and / or activities and rarely in lacrosse alone — although lacrosse usually occupies a very high slot on the list of "favorites."
From the time Heather was in high school, she went beyond school-bounds for lacrosse – camps in Florida, camps in Virginia, camps in Pennsylvania, etc. Usually attending these alone, she was constantly striving to be one of the best. She succeeded, in that she was named to the all-star school girl teams in the USWLA national tournaments.
When lacrosse season ended each year, Heather was off to Florida for boating, surfing, fishing, biking – whatever, or to the Jersey shore for the same activities (with a party or two thrown in). Later it was off to the ski slopes where she became quite proficient in snow activities as well. Back in school, it was field hockey and basketball or whatever was interesting that particular year. My daughter coached Heather in high school and later became a confidante and friend. She said, "Heather loved life – and loved living it. Thank God, she loved lacrosse."
“Heather gave much to the game and, as fate would have it, is still giving to her “special” sport. Perhaps this is one of the reasons lacrosse is considered “unique.””
“Heather made a huge impact on my athletic life and I looked up to her as someone I would hope to be like one day. When things get tough for me I still look at the poem she gave the girls on our team called “Don’t Quit”.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!
“I am sending a copy of this to each one of you. I received this poem while I was at Loyola from Coach Aikens. I hope you enjoy it and can hang it somewhere you will always see it. GOOD LUCK!”
Author Unknown
The WINNER is always part of an answer. The LOSER is always part of the problem.
The WINNER always has a program. The LOSER always has an excuse.
The WINNER says "Let me do it for you". The LOSER says "That's not my job".
The WINNER sees an answer for every problem. The LOSER sees a problem in every answer.
The WINNER sees a goal near every trap. The LOSER sees two or three traps near every goal.
The WINNER says "it may be difficult, but it's possible".
The LOSER says "it may be possible, but it's too difficult".