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Senior Spotlight: Jen Holden
By Leora Tanjuatco
It would be the average kid’s nightmare.
But for Jen Holden, it was the best training for Division I lacrosse. Her mother, Joan Holden, was the headmistress for St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School during the years her daughter attended.
While St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes is a lacrosse powerhouse, usually producing the best lacrosse players out of high school, it was initially the school’s landscape that got Holden into the sport.
“Growing up, we lived on campus,” Holden said. “So, quite literally, my backyard was a lacrosse field. I would go to the field and watch games all the time. After dinner, my dad would have my sisters and I out on the field running around, burning off energy so that we could go to bed.
“Although I didn’t really get into organized lacrosse until middle school, we would still run around barefoot all the time on the lacrosse field – we were always outside. I guess that’s definitely what I had going for me. I had fields in my backyard.”
Her family lineage didn’t hurt either.
“I definitely have a wonderful family,” Holden admits. “My dad went to college to play football but switched to lacrosse because of an injury. My older sister, Ashley, played lacrosse at Brown and my younger sister, Abigail, plays for Dartmouth. My younger brother, William, is still in high school, but he’s ferocious. With three older sisters, he knows how to fend for himself.”
Although Holden never played against any of her siblings, or saw her father play, she still considers them her role models.
“My dad is an absolute diehard,” Holden said. “He loves lacrosse. He played defense in college, so we kind of have that in common. He’s a role model for me in his passion for the sport. I think we share that. He’s someone that goes hard for everything he’s one hundred percent in everything that he does, so I try to do that too.”
But above all else, she knows that if she were to ever need it, she has one hundred percent of her fathers support.
“I know that if I ever need to go to him for something, or if I have a bad game, he’ll be encouraging,” she admits. “If I’m struggling with something I can go to him and say Dad, what should I do? I’m having trouble with this’ and he’ll help me. He’ll always tell you to keep your head up.”
With her father by her side, Holden serving as a captain – has been able to transfer her own leadership onto the field this season to lead the nationally ranked Cavaliers in their quest for another Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a national title.
As key component to one of the nations stingiest defenses, Holden looks to enter tonight’s contest knowing that with energy, discipline and teamwork, the Cavaliers will find success.
“We have been sticking to our mindset from every single game so far,” Holden said. “Our goal is to come out ready to play and not let-down throughout the entire game, every night. Tonight is nothing different. It’s going to be a really tough game; we’ll just need to mentally prepare.”