Senior Amy Town Balances Books, Choir and Volleyball
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 18, 2010
Each morning, Amy Town slowly opens her eyes, hits the snooze button on her alarm clock and savors the waning moments of the comfort of her bed. This is the only part of Town’s daily routine that doesn’t have her constantly darting from one place to another.
Town, a senior outside hitter on the Pitt volleyball team, is also a member of the Heinz Chapel Choir and, throughout her time at Pitt, a standout in the classroom. Even calling her schedule busy would be an understatement.
“I have no idea how I get all this stuff done,” Town said.
There’s now even more on the agenda this weekend for Town when she and the No. 6-seeded Panthers face Marquette in the Big East tournament at Fitzgerald Field House at 6 p.m. on Friday. But as far as a busy schedule goes, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
This semester, a typical day for Town starts with morning classes, which last until 11 a.m. She then eats lunch and makes the trek from lower campus to the Fitzgerald Field House for weight training at noon. After lifting, she goes straight to volleyball practice from 1-4 p.m., and then to choir practice for two more hours.
That doesn’t include the countless hours of studying required for any college student, the 30-match volleyball season that runs from August until November and multiple concerts throughout the school year for the choir.
The spring semester won’t be as demanding since her volleyball career at Pitt will be over, but that wasn’t always the case.
“You think the offseason would be a lot easier, but it isn’t,” Town said. “We have a couple of tournaments in the spring, so we still block off time (in our schedules) because we practice and train for the upcoming season. Then, in the summer, we come back after about six weeks off to start practicing again. So it’s still a big time commitment.”
With a schedule that would make many crumble at the pressure of so many commitments, Town is in her element. Part of that comes from her parents (Town’s dad was a decathlete and her mom ran hurdles), who were always involved with sports and music. Now, her schedule is just natural.
“I don’t know what I’d do it I didn’t have volleyball and choir,” said Town, who has sang the National Anthem before volleyball matches several times in the past. “I’ve loved volleyball and singing and have always had to fit them into my schedule since elementary school. We’d be playing (volleyball) and then we’d go to our church choir rehearsals. It’s always been something that I’ve made work.”
Making a schedule as demanding as hers work, becomes more difficult as time goes on. Time requirements all-around increase when moving from one level to another, and that’s been no different for Town. Luckily, she’s not alone in her passion to do multiple things. Town also finds similarities between what she does on and off the court.
“A lot of why I keep doing it is the work ethic and being part of a team,” Town said. “In the choir we have to learn to meld our voices together. You have to listen to the other people and work together to produce the best sound possible, and it’s the same on the court. You have to work together to produce the best outcomes, because if you don’t come together then you lose.”
Town will have a little bit more time on her hands at the conclusion of the Pitt volleyball season, but that likely won’t slow her down. She plans on attending graduate school for physical therapy in the near future but may take a stab at playing volleyball overseas beforehand. Either way, she plans to continue her involvement on choirs and playing volleyball because that’s what she loves to do.
“I love it,” she said. “I wouldn’t give either up.”