North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week making an impact on and off the court
Erin Fahy
Sport: Volleyball
School: Cresskill
Class: Senior. Age: 17
Accomplishment: The middle blocker and team captain held the team together during wins against New Milford and Leonia, the latter in the Bergen Invitational. She leads the team in kills, blocks, aces, and digs, averaging six kills, 3.5 blocks, five digs, and two aces a game.
Story by Paul Schwartz / NorthJersey.com
Erin Fahy says the biggest issue in her campaign to be elected vice president of the Cresskill student council last spring was whether the candidates would listen to their peers.
Maybe that’s why her biggest accomplishment so far was taking on a task that others had groused about but never pursued. As a result, all Cougar athletes are now able to better prepare for away games.
“Cresskill sports teams have been notoriously late to 4 o’clock away games because we don’t get out of school until exactly 3, and we have a few places to travel like Upper Saddle River and Midland Park where, if we hit traffic, we’re late, and it got worse this year,” Fahy said. “It got worse this year because if you show up late, they start the warmup clock (for volleyball) as soon as you step in the gym.”
One of the duties of the student council president and vice president is to show up to monthly board meetings to report on students’ concerns.
“At the September meeting, I presented our case for leaving school early,” she said. “They discussed it and we got to leave 10 minutes early for the Park Ridge away game, and now depending on where we have to travel, we’re allowed to leave up to 15 minutes early.”
But as effective as she is off the court − she also has 4.5 GPA − she may be even more effective on it, whether it’s during the fall volleyball or the winter basketball season.
“She is the player everyone wants to coach,” Cougars volleyball coach Laura Germano said. “She is the heart and soul of our team. She leads on and off the court. We just started playing her all the way around in the rotations and she has been holding the team together offensively and defensively.”
At 5-foot-10, Fahy was second team All-Bergen in volleyball and one of the top scorers in the county in basketball last year. She’s equally adept in both sports. The Cougars won the the NJIC Patriot division in girls basketball last year, and currently lead the division in volleyball.
She has yet to decide which, if any, sport she’ll pursue in college. She hopes to study finance and become a foreign currency trader.
“I play as hard as can in both sports,” Fahy said “Mentally, basketball is a little harder because the season is so long and you can’t stop unless there’s a whistle. Volleyball, there’s time to celebrate or reset after every point.”
But Fahy hardly rests at any time. In addition to her studies, sports and student council duties, she also likes to draw, following in the footsteps of her grandmother and great grandmother on her dad’s side.
“I draw scenes of the oceans, of things outdoors,” said Fahy. “It’s a thing I’d love to do more of.”
Maybe she’ll have time in the spring when she doesn’t play a sport … yet.
