From a dream to reality, Katie Colavito strives to live out God’s plan for her life as she earns accolades for women’s lacrosse at Liberty University.
Katie learned she was named the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) preseason midfielder of the year when checking her phone after class. She found multiple messages from teammates congratulating her on the award.
“To play here specifically has been a dream of mine for a long time, and so to hear something like that and to be acknowledged and recognized in that way is just really cool,” Katie said. “It is not everything, but it was … a really good feeling.”
After learning about the award, Katie’s first call was to her father.
“My dad is just my biggest supporter,” Katie said. “My dad is my rock. He keeps me level headed.”
A love of lacrosse runs in the entire Colavito family as Katie watched her older siblings play the same sport growing up. Joining them on the field in second grade, Katie began to play lacrosse and has ever since.
Her older sister, Andrea Colavito, is a former Liberty Women’s Lacrosse player as well. The two got the unique opportunity to play together for one year after the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, Andrea got the opportunity to play a fifth year with the Lady Flames when Katie came in as a freshman.
“This one thing (that) wasn’t possible, … God made it happen, and it was just really cool to … show our connection on the field,” Katie said.
Katie noted that the Colavito duo got to assist each other in scoring and guide one another on the field, which she said was the “best feeling in the world.”
“It was just so much fun,” Katie said. “We don’t even have to communicate because we know what each other wants and how each other plays.”
With the two only ever playing together for smaller leagues growing up, this was a dream come true for Katie as a freshman. As she adjusted to playing at the collegiate level, Katie had her older sister to guide her.
Once Andrea finished her fifth year, Katie was left to conquer Liberty on her own. Losing seniors is an adjustment for any team, but the first year without her sister on the team was especially hard for the younger sibling.
“She was just my rock, and I could really lean on her,” Katie said. “Then going into last year without her, it was definitely an adjustment, knowing … my best friend wasn’t there anymore.”
Off the field, Katie is in her junior year and earning a degree in public heath with a community health promotion concentration. During her sophomore year, Katie was one of nine Liberty Women’s Lacrosse players to receive the Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal for maintaining a 3.75 GPA or higher during the academic year, according to CUSA.
“Anything you’re doing, you want to do it with all your heart,” Katie said. “Being a student-athlete is hard. … At the end of the day, you have to put student before athlete.”
Katie said that Liberty has been a second home to her, allowing her to buy-in to the program. She wants to remain focused on the team’s goals, like winning the ASUN championship. At the end of the day, Katie wants to be focused on “changing the program and leaving it better than I found it.”
“I want to contribute as much as I can and leave an impact on those around me and the program so that we can do things that we haven’t done before,” Katie said.
Looking back, Katie said she wishes she could tell her younger self to trust in God and his plan for her life, especially through the challenges of her recruiting process during a pandemic.
Her favorite verse is 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
“I think that when you lead with love and you keep your head down and you work hard, you don’t have to fear anything if you just trust in God,” Colavito said.
Youngworth is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.