From the outset, small habits make a big difference in building an athletic and personal profile that enables high school students and college athletes to succeed.
Katherine Thiessen, an NCAA Division 1 softball pitcher from Lloydminster, underlined that message last Thursday as she spoke with students and staff from the fledgling Pursuit School of Sport.
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“Eventually, it’s about becoming mature,” said Thiessen, a Southeastern Louisiana University freshman back home in Lloyd for the Christmas holidays.
“You have a bunch of responsibilities in college. Even now, in a time where college athletes can get paid, everything you do starting your freshman year (is impactful).
“You’re trying to create a brand for yourself, you’re trying to create a name, focusing on all the good stuff to create a positive brand.”
About 60 students and teachers from Pursuit heard from one of their own in Thiessen, a 2025 graduate of Lloydminster Comprehensive High School who earned a full-ride scholarship to study at Southeastern Louisiana and continue playing the sport she loves at a high level.
In its first year of operation under the Lloydminster Public School Division, Pursuit is designed for students competing in elite-level sports, ranging from hockey to gymnastics and multiple other disciplines. The school program offers flexible schedules, mentorship and a pathway to match athletic and academic achievement.
“It’s pretty cool when a sport you love ends up taking you all around the world,” Pursuit principal Doug Smith — a former LCHS vice-principal — said in introducing Thiessen.
Sporting her SLU colours, Thiessen had an attentive audience as she engaged with students for an hour on a frigid Prairie morning that contrasted significantly with the warm weather on the Lions’ Hammond, La., campus.
Thiessen, 18, plays with a high-achieving team that runs a rigorous program on and off the field. SLU posted a perfect 8-0 record in the fall season, during which the Lloyd rookie led the team in hitting and was among eight pitchers on a balanced staff.
As celebrated as such accomplishments might be for any college student, the measuring sticks go beyond the ball field, Thiessen told the Pursuit students.
She said it’s critical to keep pace academically in the competitive world of NCAA sports, noting that submitting a college assignment late can usually cost athletes a failing mark and push them out of the gameday lineup.
Thiessen encouraged the local students to develop a plan that can contribute to success within and outside the classroom, from consistent study habits to practising with a purpose, rather than just going through the motions.
One of Pursuit’s senior students, Thunder hockey club defenceman Ellis Smith, asked Thiessen about off days and non-game weeks and whether players should feel guilty, or like they’re slacking off, when they’re not training or playing a game.
“Your body needs time to recover,” Thiessen advised. “Your body needs time to rest. Also, mentally, your brain needs a break. Off time is definitely important.”
Smith, a Grade 12 student, appreciated Thiessen’s response, saying he had been struggling with a sluggish week of training after the high of a productive previous weekend for the Thunder during a Premier Hockey League showcase in Stettler, Alta.
“Really, just her saying, ‘Take time off for yourself,’ is helpful,” Smith said in an interview afterward. “For me, I can really relate with that, because I like to think that I push myself pretty hard and that I put in lots of extra hours when I’m by myself, making sure I’m putting in the work to get to the next level. Sometimes that really takes a toll on you, so I wanted to ask that question,
‘Is it OK to take time off?’
“And having her clarify that as a yes, to me, that’s really reassuring.”
Ellis Smith believes that players’ mental battles can be particularly challenging, especially during off days and weeks without games for teams like his first-year Thunder.
“I know, right now for me, it’s not been the greatest week,” said the Hillmond native. “We were just in Stettler last weekend for our showcase, so it takes a lot out of your body, out of you mentally, to come back from being super active, and then trying to get back into your regular schedule.
“That’s a big problem with me — I feel too guilty.”
Athletes sometimes feel guilty about not eating properly, but Thiessen recommended a five-and-two formula. She told the inaugural group of Pursuit pupils that it’s a realistic plan for student-athletes to try to eat nutritional meals for at least five days each week, and to sample fast food or the like on the other two days.
On pursuing a path toward collegiate athletics, Thiessen advised students to market themselves in both traditional and modern ways, whether it’s with a follow-up phone call or via social media. She said coaches on the recruiting trail appreciate learning more about prospects during phone conversations, and potentially face-to-face meetings later.
It’s natural for students to be apprehensive about possible rejection, but they aren’t the only people experiencing that scenario, said Thiessen, a business and marketing student.
“It’s important to understand that recruiting is a hard and difficult thing, having the feeling of rejection. But talking to my college coach, (I’ve realized) coaches also don’t like recruiting, because they’re constantly feeling rejection on their half, too.”
Thiessen got her homework done early when she committed to Southeastern Louisiana during her Grade 11 year at Lloyd Comp.
She trusted the process — and her faith.
“For me, I always just constantly asked the Lord to send me to the right place,” Thiessen said. “Even though my (other) options, I liked them, but they just didn’t feel right.
“I was just constantly in prayer, ‘Send me to the right place, send me somewhere I can succeed for four years.’ And that’s exactly what He did.
I just trusted Him in the process as well. That’s kind of how I ended up at Southeastern. It just felt perfectly right.”
The six-foot-two right-handed pitcher has stepped into a starting role with LSU in the Southland Conference.
“Our team is very focused — we’re very talented — so I’m just ready for our (spring) season to get going,” said Thiessen, on school break through Jan. 10.
“We had a great fall season. It’s just a little intense, because we are such an elite program, to kind of learn how they play. Because they do play differently. We have a specific system that we have to understand. We hustle. We’re the hardest-working team, I believe, in the whole country.”
Thiessen has been a quick study, leading the unbeaten Lions with the highest batting average, despite being in her freshman year.
“Pitching went well, too,” she said. “We have a really good pitching staff. There’s eight of us, and eight of us might get to play. We’re going to run a system like that, a bullpen like that. We don’t really have just one pitcher. We have a very talented one-through-eight bullpen.”
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