And the sorting hat has spoken, Julie Fassl has been selected to Slytherin. Each member of the field hockey team is sorted into one of the four houses of Harry Potter by Coach Restivo. However, this multisport athlete is no villain, she’s just noted for her desire to be the best.
As spring sports begin, a majority of athletes’ transition from the offseason and preseason workouts to a full throttle sports season. For Julie Fassl, no transition is necessary. Fassl is a two-sport athlete at Virginia Wesleyan who plays field hockey in the fall and softball in the spring.
Her freshman year playing field hockey resulted in her tallying nine goals and 24 points according to vwuathletics.com. After starting the first softball game of the season against Meredith College, Fassl looks to continue her positive impact on a different field.
Fassl’s love for multiple sports stemmed from a young age. “Softball I played since I was 8 or 9, and then field hockey I didn’t start until my eighth grade year of middle school…I played basketball my whole life too, all through high school,” Fassl said.
Her multi-sport persona and athleticism are apparent when she takes the field. Some of her strengths in softball assisted her field hockey game as well. “In field hockey I could really hit the ball really hard,” Fassl said. Head Coach Christina Restivo attested to this statement, “she has a heck of a swing…she used both of her sports really well for field hockey, used her swing exceptionally well in our sport which really transferred into her goals for us…Just her overall athleticism really stood out. She is an overall just exceptional athlete,” Restivo said.
Besides Fassl’s athleticism, Restivo also accredits her success to her work ethic and resilience. “She’s the type of player that you tell has something wrong and that she needs to fix and she’s going to stay after and fix it. She takes that very personally…she’s somebody who wants to adapt and wants to be better, to better herself, to better her teammates,” Restivo said.
It was this desire to be the best that landed her in the Slytherin house. “I don’t know if you know Julie that well, but she is Slytherin, and she’ll do whatever it takes to be the best, which definitely shows why she is good at what she does,” Restivo said.
On Sept. 16, Fassl scored three goals for a career high against Neumann University, one of which was the game winner. Fassl’s explosive shot is hard, and it’s loud.
“It’s more of the sound of Julie. She’s fed a ball at the top of the circle, and it’s just that contact of the ball hitting the stick and then hitting the backboard, it’s like a gunshot almost. And all of a sudden, you don’t know what happened, but you know it went in,” Restivo said.
Restivo further articulated Fassl’s lasting impression on the field hockey team. “I just specifically remember being on the sideline and hearing that, and just being like this kid is going to be an impact player. And she doesn’t get it, the fans get it, everybody gets it, but she doesn’t yet. And it’s so impactful just to know that a humble player like that, I’ve got her for another three more years,” Restivo said.
As softball practices began during winter session, Fassl hopped right in. Her “offseason” consisted of just two weeks. However, she is no stranger to a hectic schedule. “High school I played three sports since freshman year, so I’ve always had something to do after school. I never had a day of school where I just went home,” Fassl said.
Before VWU, Fassl attended the Hun School of Princeton in New Jersey where she earned First Team All-Prep on four separate occasions. Softball Head Coach Brandon Elliott commented on her versatility being one of her strongest assets. “She’s able to play multiple positions and do a lot of different things, and I think that’s kind of the benefit we have with her,” Elliott said.
As the defending national champs are already sporting a 8-0 record, Fassl should only further contribute to their success.
An induction to the Slytherin house by no means has a negative connotation. It indicates that she will go above and beyond in order to be successful.
Fassl currently has one homerun and two runs batted in for the Marlins.
Megan Sherman
mrsherman@vwu.edu
