By Mike Perrin
 

Shorter University's Elizabeth Dowd learned teamwork at an early age. As one of 10 children, without it, can you imagine the chaos? And, with nine siblings, a U.S. Military Academy graduate father and a mom who is a Crossfit Games competitor and Boston Marathon qualifier, one could be fairly certain that discipline was key.

"I am the third girl and the fifth child in the family," Dowd said. "Growing up in large family taught me to be selfless, hardworking and adaptable. When you grow up in a household of 12, especially a military family, you have no choice but to be as easygoing and flexible as possible.

"I also grew up in a Christian household where my parents instilled in me at a young age the importance of my relationship with Jesus. My upbringing had the biggest influence on who I am today."

Dowd has called six places home before her move to Rome to join the Lady Hawks, including twice being posted to Fort Rucker near Dothan, Ala. She was born at West Point when her father – now a retired colonel – served on the faculty. The family moved then to Leavenworth, Kan.; to Fort Rucker; to Langenselbold, Germany; "which allowed us to visit a number of interesting places in Europe, including France, Italy and Holland." After Germany, the Dowds were stationed at Offutt Air Force Base near Papillion, Neb., then her helicopter pilot dad was shipped back to Fort Rucker.

"While that was our family's final move," the senior outside hitter said, "and it allowed me to complete my high school career in one spot (at Providence Christian School in Dothan), Dad continued to be assigned to different locations until his retirement.

"So, in all, I moved five times before we settled in lower Alabama. Having my brothers and sisters with me during these moving seasons made the transitions much easier and enjoyable. My family members truly are my best friends, so even though we left many familiar places and faces behind, we were a team and the moves weren't as bad as they may seem."

At Providence, Dowd was a five-year varsity letter-winner and team captain. She led her team to two state championships and one runner-up finish, was a two-time state tournament most valuable player and was first-team all-state three times. She also played basketball and soccer.

A busy athletics career in high school and college comes naturally in the Dowd family. Here's a rundown on the rest of the family's sports history:

• ·       Father John Dowd played high school football, basketball and golf. He played football at West Point.
• ·       Mother Donna was a high-school gymnast who also played field hockey and volleyball. She played college volleyball at St. Joseph's College in Long Island, N.Y. She has been a Boston Marathon qualifier and competes in the Crossfit Games.
• ·       Brother Johnny played high school basketball, football and soccer. He was a cheerleader at Auburn University.
• ·       Sister Rebecca played basketball, soccer and volleyball in high school and was a volleyball team captain at the University of Montevallo.
• ·       Brother Sam played high school basketball and soccer and travel soccer at West Point.
• ·       Sister Katie played basketball, soccer and volleyball in high school and volleyball at the University of Mobile.
• ·       Brother Benjamin played high school football and soccer and college football at Birmingham-Southern College.
• ·       Brother Timmy played high school football and soccer and is a freshman on the Shorter men's soccer team.
• ·       Brother Laurence plays high school football and soccer and hopes to play college football.
• ·       Brother Teddy plays high school football.
• ·       Brother Thomas plays travel soccer.

Phew!

Dowd's quality performance on the volleyball court and in the classroom continued at Shorter. As a freshman, she was first-team NCCAA All-Region and made the dean's list. As a sophomore, the biology major/chemistry minor was first-team All-Gulf South Conference and GSC All-Academic in the Lady Hawks' first season in Division II after the transition from NAIA. Last season, she repeated as first-team All-GSC and All-Academic.

This season, Dowd leads her squad in kills (3.12 per set) and is second in digs (4.15), which ranks her seventh in the league in kills and sixth in digs. She's second in service aces for the Lady Hawks, who head into matches tonight and Saturday at Alabama Huntsville and North Alabama, respectively, in second place in the conference. West Florida is first in the GSC at 15-6 overall, 9-1 in the league. Shorter is 14-5, 9-2, followed by UNA (18-4, 8-3) and UAH (14-8, 7-5).

She is team captain at Shorter, too. "I think my coaches chose me to be a leader because of my passion for the sport, my performance on the court and my dedication to working hard and giving my best every day," Dowd said.

Like all student-athletes, Dowd had to figure out the best way handle her studies while managing the training and game responsibilities. "Being a student-athlete, I have developed good time management skills and have learned to balance classwork and volleyball responsibilities," she said. "Honestly, at the end of a long season this can get very difficult and exhausting. For me, it is important to take advantage of the short times I have outside of class and practice to catch up or get ahead on schoolwork."

Dowd, who after graduation in May plans to attend Physical Therapy School, said her heroes live in her home. "My dad is one of the wisest men I know," she said. "He is a loving and supportive father to all 10 of his children. My mother is also my hero because after having 10 kids she has made it to the Crossfit Games and competed against the fittest women in the world. My parents are my biggest heroes and role models. They have taught me so many valuable lessons and have truly depicted a godly married couple that I admire so much."

Follow Perrin on Twitter, @mikeperrin27. Email comments to: mikeperrin27@gmail.com.

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