Former NDC Woman's Basketball Player Jackie Harrison's story is a lot more unique than most. She was 10 years old when she picked up a basketball for the first time when living in Canada, but never really played organized basketball until the seventh grade, as a member of Bedford Junior School in Michigan. The thing that makes Jackie's story unique is that she grew up in a hockey family, although she did also live in a small town in Michigan surrounded by corn fields. It was quiet but a great place to grow up, she told me.
"I grew up as part of a hockey family playing hockey together in Canada. My brother Andrew, and dad Steve were definitely my heroes growing up, so I looked up to them and loved to play hockey,"Harrison stated.
Harrison explained to me how her dad coached hockey and had a successful career playing hockey all around the world. She also told me how her brother has been able to play pro hockey all over North America and Europe. "I am obviously a very proud sister. Growing up with my brother in a hockey rink definitely made for a unique childhood but it had a huge impact on who I am today. It has given me tons of opportunities and I have met some amazing people in the hockey world,"Harrison explained.
She continued:
"My dad played hockey and coached for a long time. He now works for the Dallas Stars, he runs a lot of their youth programs/camps and rinks. As for my mom Laurel, she is a cosmetologist and skin care consultant."
When asked about the most fun part of her childhood Jackie naturally talks about sports, and how she did not have summers or winter's off, hockey season was all year round. As for the most challenging part of childhood she explained to me it was tough moving around a lot during her dad's coaching career, but she reiterated that she would not change how she grew up.
Harrison explained to me how she lived in a ton of cool places and met a lot of good people.
As many kids who go on to play college basketball, Harrison played AAU in high school. She told me how it kept her busy and she got to play with some of her best friends so it was always fun.
As was the case for many kids of her age, the love of basketball came from being a big Kobe Bryant fan. "I named a family pet Kobe when I was like nine. Andrew played for fun when I was in school so I followed him on that too, but I never got a chance to play much until later in life."
When asked what trait she received from her dad, Jackie explained how she learned optimism.
"My dad could be going through the ringer and he would still be smiling, still be doing the right thing, and working hard. As for my mom, I learned to be compassionate. She is one of those moms that if she asked you if you were thirsty and you said no, she would still bring you water, a Gatorade, juice, and like four other options anyways , just in case you changed your mind. She would do anything for anyone."
Harrison explained how winning was a big part of her high school career:
"High school was pretty good. Our girl's basketball team at Bedford Senior High School in Michigan was really successful, our nickname was the Kicking Mules. I think I lost a total of like 10 games in my four year high school career. It was really easy to buy into the success there."
Then came the sequence that changed a lot for Harrison. She explained that:
"I got a call from Lisa Verhoff- Medvets one of the NDC coaches one day. They ended up coming to one of my high school games and things went from there. I then had my official visit and it was kind of game over after that!"
Jackie then met current NDC woman's coach Lauren Macer at an open gym freshman year at Notre Dame College. Macer told me all the freshman clicked pretty quickly through basketball.
Another current friend and former teammate Katie Dovin (Stumphauzer) explained how she knew right away she and Harrison would get along:
" I met Jackie when I attended NDC. I knew immediately we would get along great because of her sense of humor and contagious laugh, Dovin mentioned.
Macer agreed:
" Jackie is a go with the flow type person that is adventurous, loves to laugh, and can have a good time wherever she is."
Dovin and Macer had similar sentiments about Jackie, the teammate:
" Jackie is/ was the type of player that every team needs. She was willing to work hard at practice, speak up in the locker room, and do the little things that helped a team however she could. She was going to give 100 percent on the court and in the weight room. She was a really hard worker!"Macer said.
Dovin elaborated on that thought:
" As a teammate, Jackie was selfless. No matter what her role was throughout the years we played together she was always there for her teammates."
Speaking of being selfless Harrison talked about her really good friend and how is she is so proud of everything that Macer has done with the current program:
" I follow the woman's team pretty closely. Coach Macer is one of my best friends and I could not be more proud of her. She has done such an amazing job, and at such a young age. She is so smart and has an insanely high basketball IQ. It has been honestly so great to watch her and the team succeed."
Dovin agreed:
" I absolutely love following current team's success."
Harrison continued by talking about Macer as a coach:
" I always knew Lauren could do it (coach.) She is so smart and her basketball IQ is off the charts. She comes from a great family and a great basketball/ sports family. She understands the game down to the tiniest detail. I made the best friends at NDC, I would not change that decision. I am so proud of Lauren, she is incredible. I cannot say enough good things about her."
Harrison as she stated earlier has moved around a bit in her lifetime but has now lived in Texas for a while. She explained to me that it is hard to stay in contact with her former teammates for sure because everyone is living their own lives and are far away from each other, so perhaps the hardest part for her is losing out on being able to meet up face to face and spending time with each other that way. Luckily as she stated everybody has phones though and can keep in touch with each other from afar. Other than Macer and Dovin she still keeps in contact with Alex Dackin Temple, Martha Nagbe, Erin Entinghe, Alexa Tropiano, Chelsea Andorka, and Molly Ritz.
When asked about how the relationship they had is compared to when they were in school, here are the thoughts of Macer:
" I would say our relationship is the same as it was when we were in school. We don't see each other as much but we still talk and stay connected through social media."
When talking about the ups and downs of being teammates Macer gave these thoughts:
" The ups and downs are always going to come but that is why it is so important to build those friendships within your team. We had a lot of good times, times that have taught us lessons that we have both taken with us."
One of the greater feats accomplished by Jackie during her playing career was going from someone who saw limited time when she first arrived on campus to starting seven games her senior season. Macer talked about the many ways that she improved:
"Jackie found different ways to improve and help her team out. Through my four years Jackie played many different roles, she had games where she didn't play much, games she started, and years where she was a team captain. I had so many memories with Jackie it is nearly impossible to narrow it to just one. We were able to create a lot of long lasting memories both on and off the court. As Jackie and I have gotten older our relationship has grown. We know we are always just a phone call away. It has been nice to know we can share stories, give advice, and be there for each other as life happens."
Macer added how distance is the hardest part of the relationship:
" The toughest part of our relationship now is definitely distance. Whenever we are together we pick up right where we left off, but the frequency of how often we see each other is not as much as we would like."
Dovin talked about the never give up attitude that Harrison had and how it rubbed off on her teammates:
" She never gave up. During the seasons when she saw limited playing time, she still impacted the team tremendously. She made sure all the players on the bench were into the game and cheering on our teammates. I knew I could always count on her on and off the court. I think that energy helped our team in many game situations. "
Dovin talked about what practices were like and the bonds that she has created through the program:
"Practices were very competitive, but we had fun. We knew when to be serious (Coach Katie Hine would probably disagree ha ha), but we also knew how to have a good time. I will forever be grateful for the bonds that we created through NDCWBB. I not only gained friends but sisters, I miss our days together but hold those memories close to my heart. This did not stop with the players either, Coach Hine, and Stephanie Mentz-Bruce also impacted my life tremendously."
When asked what the biggest lesson was she learned from the coaches and staff at NDC these were Dovin's thoughts:
" The biggest lesson I learned was learning how to face adversity. Life may be challenging at times, but learning how to react to a difficult situation will help tremendously in the long run"
Harrison is currently married, a mom of a four month old son named Harrison, and works in the medical field as a scribe with a doctor in San Fransisco. She told me that she still does not know what she wants to be when she grows up with a laugh.
Here is a quick synopsis of how she met her husband from Harrison:
" I was living in Arlington, Virginia back in 2014 and was bartending at a bar called Ireland's Four Court. That is when my now husband Christian Woelfel-Monsivais came in while I was working. We got married March 7,2019. He is now an officer in the Army."
Jackie talked about how NDC prepared her for life after basketball and made her more mentally tough:
"NDC definitely prepares you for life after basketball. You are involved in a lot of other activities other than school. It taught me a lot about mental toughness, that's for sure. I played basketball and was part of the NCAA SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) as well. I believe I was the Vice President at the time. We kept busy that's for sure."
She told me what motherhood has been like so far:
"Super exciting to have a baby. Definitely came at a rough time with the rest of the world and this pandemic. He is such a blessing and so cool though. It's going by so fast and he is becoming a little human with a whole personality. He brings a lot of happiness into our world."
Dovin talked about how she cannot wait for the two little boys to meet someday:
"Jackie and I both had baby boys recently so it has been wonderful to talk with her about motherhood. My son Jonny is the same age as Harrison. I can't wait for our little guys to meet one day."
This is what Jackie had to say to this past season's group of NDC girls:
" My advice to them would be, I would tell them it's just a season in their life. It didn't end how they wanted or had envisioned. There are over three seasons worth of basketball that you can still remember and cherish. They have so much left to experience and conquer, this is something they can overcome."
Dovin speaks to almost all of her former teammates, as a matter of fact Santana Bonifant and Alexa Tropiano were in her wedding, and were roommates of hers from sophomore year on. As for her advice to current student-athletes or anyone in these unprecedented times with everything going in the world she says to stay positive and be kind.
So as we continue this series, and in this particular story go back to when NDC athletics was in it's infancy (Harrison graduated after the 2012-13 season) , one theme that always sticks is how selfless all these student-athletes are and how much family means to them. Whether it be their NDC family or their blood family. In unprecedented times like these, it is good to know that stories like these still exist, as we all need it with everything going on in the world right now. Jackie Harrison, the sister, the teammate, the mom- the daughter, the wife is just the latest example of that. So until the next Alumni spotlight Go Falcons and as always "Fly Above!!"
From left to right: Jackie Harrison, Steve Harrison, Andrew Harrison, and Laurel Harrison
Jackie Harrison, and current Notre Dame College Woman's Coach Lauren Macer have been friends ever since playing together at NDC.
Jackie Harrison and her husband Christian, with the two dogs.
Jackie Harrison as a member of NDCWBB
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