By VALERIE VISAGGIO
Contributing Writer
Being a student and an athlete is hard enough; now imagine being a mother to top it all off. When it came to figuring out a balance between all those important factors in her life, Theresa Durle had a plan. In fall 2019 many spectators noticed a player running just a bit faster, kicking just a bit harder and teachers saw a change in the student athlete who walked in the classroom.
Durle’s newborn baby, Isabella Durle, became the number one priority in her life. While she juggled the demands of her childhood education major and her commitment to a competitive Saint Rose women’s soccer team barreling towards a championship, she always found the time to prioritize being a mother. With appearances in 21 games, practicing nearly six times a week and around 3 hour long practices, while also still trying to focus on 15 credits, this meant time management was a serious component in her life.
Durle found out that she was pregnant in June 2018, and after speaking with head coach Laurie Guthiel of the Saint Rose Women’s Soccer team, they both made the ultimate decision to redshirt for her entire sophomore semester. This decision was not public because of the fact that she was also recovering from her first compartment syndrome surgery in 2018. This injury meant that when running, there became a lot of built up pressure confined in both of Durle’s calves, creating high amounts of pain on the soccer field.
As for Durle’s living situation, when coming back to school for her 2019 soccer season, she moved back into her off-campus house with her two roommates. “The only people that knew I was pregnant were my two roommates for the first few months back,” said Durle. The dynamic for the house became a bit shifted but in a more responsible way. For these three college students living together, not only did they have to worry about handling living on their own; they also added having to care for a baby into the mix. Roommates, friends and teammates Emely Banguero and Sophia Jean Charles shared their team effort in their adjustment to this new living arrangement.
“I never thought that I would be living with a baby in college, but now I can’t imagine T without Bella now and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” said Banguero.
Both roommates continue to help out Durle whenever she needs an extra hand and they all work together to provide Bella with the best care.
“Honestly watching T be a mom to Bella has been so eye opening and I am so proud to see how much she has grown as a person,” said Charles.
While Durle jumped into her new life head first, she had no expectations around her pregnancy raising a child. Durle was very open to letting her friends and family take part in all of the baby showers, people buying her baby gifts and she went on with her life as it normally was. When she was planning her school schedule, Durle had to consider not only her soccer commitments, but more importantly, she said, her responsibility to Isabella. Durle discovered that having a daughter brought so much newer meaning to what she was working for in life. Especially when it came to her education, she wanted to succeed now more than ever because she had more than herself as a driving force.
“I stopped going through the motions and just showing up to things because I had to,” said Durle.
Durle being a childhood education major made it a bit easier for her professors to understand her current situation. However, Durle didn’t choose to tell her professors unless she felt it was absolutely necessary.
“I never went out of my way to tell any of them that I had a kid, most of the time it just came up naturally because if I wasn’t able to come to class because Bella had to go to the doctors, I would just email them that,” said Durle.
Each of Durle’s professors were very understanding, realizing the amount of responsibilities she had to take on while also trying to succeed in the classroom.
“I never did it for special treatment but all of my professors were very willing to work with me knowing I had a lot on my plate which included school, soccer and Bella,” said Durle. Junior year for Durle was full of new and exciting firsts, from participating in a NCAA final four title with the women’s soccer team, while also having Bella watch from the sidelines. Friends, family and even parents of fellow teammates took turns holding and watching Bella so Durle was able to focus on getting her job done on the soccer field.
Although most of her teammates took turns passing around Bella when they had the time, Durle also had a core group of friends outside the team that were willing to spend their time to help out when it came to practice and bringing Bella to watch her mom play in games.
“I never really understood the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, but then I quickly realized all the stuff you have to do when you have a kid,” said Durle.
This spring, seniors on the Saint Rose Women’s Soccer team are no longer required to attend practices. This gave Durle a few more hands on deck when receiving help with watching Bella during practice and school.
“She’s supportive and understanding and she receives numerous amounts of support from
her teammates,” said senior teammate Eva Frazzoni. “As a mother, the way that she is still in school and still playing and providing for Bella is amazing.”
As for Durle and her thoughts on the upcoming year without the support from her senior teammates and friends, she shared a genuine sadness for all of them graduating.
“I honestly am going to be so upset when the senior class leaves, they all just bond so well with her and the fact that they were all so willing to jump on board to help meant so much to me,” said Durle
