Amy Stairs is a prime example that you can achieve what you want, if you are willing to work for it.
Through her hard work and genuine love for competition, Stairs has ascended from a non-scholarship walk-on to a vital player for the field hockey team.
Walk-ons are indeed a rare breed, and it takes a dedicated athlete to make the team. But Stairs not only made it, she is now a co-captain, and leads the Lady Lions with 11 assists.
Coach Char Morett said when Stairs enrolled at Penn State she had a strong desire to improve. Stairs didn’t start a single game in her freshman year and sophomore year, yet Morett offered her a scholarship.
“She has an amazing work ethic,” Morett said. “She didn’t start a single game, but I knew she would be good in time. That’s why she got the scholarship. Anybody that works that hard has to come out good.”
Chris McGinley, who is the leading scorer for the Lady Lions, said she remembers standing on the sidelines with Stairs.
“We called ourselves temporary help,” McGinley said. “But obviously that’s changed now.”
Stairs, who has started at five different positions this season, has earned the respect of her team and her opponents. As a senior co-captain, Stairs said that she leads by example putting everything she has into every practice and every game.
“She works hard every day,” Morret said. “Be it practice or be it game she is always giving it all she’s got.” “She is quiet, but her hard work is an encouragement to everybody,” Morret added.
Defender Becca Main said that Stairs is under-recognized because she is so quiet, and yet she’s the one everyone looks to for guidance.
“She never gets the credit she deserves,” Main said, “because she is so quiet. She is a leader by task not by words, and unfortunately people take the tasks for granted. Everybody expects her to be great. And she is great.”
Stairs’ strong work ethic has made her an ideal role model for the younger players to follow, especially the ones who sit on the bench.
Stairs has been working wherever her team needs her most this year.
“She has an excellent working knowledge of the game,” Morett said. “This helps her to excel no matter where the team needs her to be.”
Stairs sees herself as a team player, and said she will do whatever it takes to win.
“She is a well rounded person both on and off of the field,” Morett said. “She is wholeheartedly committed to the program.”
A big part of her commitment comes from her Penn State background.
Both her father and sister are Penn State alumni, and both played a large role in her attending Penn State.
She was raised in an athletic family, and participated in sports throughout her career at Hempfield High School. Both her mother and sister played field hockey, teaching her the basics of the sport. Stairs also lettered in track as a middle distance runner, triple jumper, and a middle distance runner.
No matter what the sport or position, Stairs puts her life into her work, and enjoys it. Her loyalty to her team, and her pride in Penn State bleeds through every time she steps onto the field.
“She is the most compassionate person I know,” Main said. “She always has everything planned out, and pushes that limit a step beyond. She is very goal oriented. She brings the best out of everyone, and everybody likes to see her succeed.”