For the typical soccer player, playing a sport that involves mainly one’s feet, the shoe could be considered a bane of existence. Idaho’s lone departing senior decided to take that to the next level — and it’s colorful.
“One summer during my sophomore year, I was staying here with a friend that was on the team, and we were bored,” Alison Page said. “We both like to paint. So one day we just came up with the idea that we wanted to design some shoes. So we went to Walmart, got some cheap canvas shoes and painted a design on them.”
It’s turned into a hobby that her coaches and teammates said she has taken and run with.
“You get her a pair of shoes and she’ll paint them for free. If you saw some of the shoes she’s painted you would be astounded,” Liz Boyden said, a redshirting senior goalkeeper who is Page’s longest tenured teammate.
It was about that same time in which she earned the nickname she is still affectionately called.
“When I first joined the team, there were two other Alisons. I taught the team some English phrases and one of them was that you call someone a ‘Larry,’ which means you call someone ‘Larry the loner,” she said. “The captain at the time, Kelsey Manning, she found it funny so, because I was a freshman and had to get a new name, I became Larry.”
The name has stuck with Page through all of her five years at the University of Idaho.
“Senior day when they announced her as Alison Page,” Boyden said. “We were like no, it’s Larry.”
It’s stories like this that make it easy to tell why Page’s teammates regard her as one of the team’s most popular personalities.
Battling adversity
As a native from England, the sport of soccer is more than just the simple game it is in America. It’s a culture.
“When in England you grow up with the game. It’s on television 24/7. It’s just in your blood,” coach Pete Showler said, also a native of England. “When she came over she had that same passion for the game.”
Instead of pursuing club and college opportunities that were presenting themselves to her in England, Page decided to test the waters of becoming a student-athlete in the United States.
“Athletics in general have a lot more support in the college level in America than they do in England, and I just thought it would be an adventure and a great opportunity to do something new,” she said.
When she joined the Idaho program in 2007, she was expected to be a welcome addition to the defensive back line, and started twelve games during her freshman season. That’s when injuries began to hit, which would become an over riding theme for the rest of her college career.
An ankle injury shorted her freshman season and lingered into her sophomore season. Beginning her junior season she tore a ligament in her knee, which cost her the entire season.
“I was really motivated to get through rehab and get back as fast as I could. I came back pretty fit from that,” she said.
Shortly after getting back into playing shape, she tore her knee ligament a second time.
“Once I got my second injury a year after the first, it was really difficult mentally,” she said. “But I just tried to stay positive.”
“For most players, mentally, they just tune out after that, but she’s been very resilient,” Showler said.”She bounces back and just always has a huge smile on her face, it’s just brilliant to see.”
Instead, what the injuries have forced her to do is differ in her approach to the game to keep doing what she felt she could do to help the team succeed, and her teammates will be the first to say that she still has an incredible amount to do with the success they have had on the field.
“She’s one of the most dedicated players I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s battled through some really hard setbacks and has shown more passion towards the game than anybody I’ve ever met. She inspires me to be a better player through her work ethic and drive,” junior Lauren Layton said. “She brings new aspects and perspectives. I think that’s part of where her drive and dedication stems from. She knows how important soccer is.”
Page said the game has given her a new perception of both the game itself and what she is able to do to help her team get better and become more successful.
“It was a good opportunity to take a step back and look at what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. I was able to give a different perspective to the players,” she said. “My role on the team has been easier this past year because I’ve been able to practice. I can physically challenge people around me.”
What’s not to miss about Larry?
As far as the Vandals are able to advance in the WAC tournament and possibly the NCAA tournament is as far as Larry’s Idaho career will take her. In her career as a Vandal she’s witnessed a program that went through a two-year stretch of only six victories, and has made the conference tournament twice in a row for the first time ever.
“If you want somebody to epitomize what this program is all about, Larry is it,” Showler said. “She’s been here when the program hasn’t been at its best, and she’s been here when the program’s at its best, and she’s been a big part of that process.”
What the players just might miss the most about their senior leader is the fun personality Page provides off the field.
“She’s an amazing singer,” Layton said. “I remember during my freshman year we went on a retreat and she got up and sang ‘Killing Me Softly’ in front of everyone. We were all around the bonfire and she pretty much brought us all to tears with her voice.”
“What’s not to miss about Larry?” Liz Boyden said. “She’s funny, so smart, amazing artist, one of the funniest people to be around … She’s just Larry.”