By: Cypris Wilkinson

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – College football season is in full swing; however, since the University of Montevallo doesn’t have a football team, football lovers have to find another way to watch and get involved.

Sarah Turner is a sophomore at the University of Montevallo, is not only pursuing her degree but also dreams of  becoming a sports reporter. While competing in track and field and cross country and also overcoming obstacles and making a positive impact on the community. 

Focused on football

Turner’s favorite sport is football, and she has been watching and going to Alabama football games her whole life. Her love of football started because of her parents, who are alumni of the University of Alabama. 

“They just had their games on every fall Saturday of my life, and when I was really little I hated it,” she said, “but then after the 2015 National Championship that ‘Bama won, I started following and getting into it more because, I was like well it’s gonna be on, I might as well accept it… and I just fell in love with the game.”

Her love of football led her to become involved in the Montevallo High School football team.

“Over the summer, I  just emailed and said I wanted to help out, and they said yes. I really wanted to do it because we don’t have a football team here at Montevallo and I missed it.”

Turner has been calling the Montevallo High School Bulldogs’ home games and hosting a weekly interview show with the coach and some of the players.

Her knowledge and passion for the game fuels her desire to know more about how a team works. She says she likes learning the inside workings of a football team and it’s something she’s never experienced before.

“It’s just been interesting–even if it’s a high school team– to learn about the inside workings of a football team, cause there’s always more stuff I can learn about that. It’s a lot of just building my skills up and my interviewing skills and play-by-play commentating skills. It’s definitely fun and I enjoy it, and I’m glad they’re letting me do it.”

Though Turner’s favorite sport is football, it is not the only sport she loves. She started running track in high school, and that is actually what led her to Montevallo. 

However, Turner says she had a late start when she started track and field because she actually grew up playing soccer. She says that she started track and field her sophomore year of high school because she wanted to keep in shape during the off season of soccer and ended up liking the track and field team better.

“The team environment was just better. In soccer, at least the teams I’ve been on have been cutthroat. Everyone’s out to get each other and fighting for a spot,” she said. “In running, everyone’s so supportive, and everyone wants everyone to do well…In track, coaches can’t really have favorites because the times show who’s better, and in soccer it’s a little more subjective.”

“It’s been kinda brutal”

However, devastation came last year when she started struggling in her sport and she couldn’t figure out why. Her coach suggested she get tested,  and they found out she has an iron deficiency.

She says the Montevallo team has been very supportive during this time, and her teammates and coaches have rallied behind her.

Turner’s resilience and dedication are driving her to overcome this obstacle, but she admits that it is difficult. 

“It’s been kinda brutal,” Turner said. “I was struggling in March and April.” Her coach sent her for testing, and that’s when her iron deficiency was discovered. Even after cutting back her mileage, she wasn’t seeing the results she wanted. “I was still competing but not the level I should be competing at… when I got back here, my first race was just awful.”

“I was still competing, but not the level I should be competing at… when I got back here, my first race was just awful.”

Sarah Turner

That’s when her coach encouraged her to go get retested, but her second test came back worse than the first. She says she is still working on figuring out how to compete with this new obstacle but says it is a process and is ongoing and has no intention of stopping track and field and cross country.