SHP Olympic Presence

If you watched the Olympics this summer, you might have recognized SHP’s own Alumni — Tierna Davidson (‘16) — on the women’s soccer field. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, earning bronze in Tokyo in 2020 and gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics. When asked, Davidson shared that SHP “shaped a lot of who [she] is as a player and a person,” and that the school’s emphasis on fostering the individual and helping each person feel valued contributed significantly to where she is today. Along with club soccer, she played three years of varsity soccer at the Prep, choosing to focus on club soccer at De Anza Force during her freshman year. In conversation with her father, Mr. Greg Davidson, SHP Math teacher, commended the girls soccer coaching staff and the overall comfort the school provided their family as parents, students, and later staff. (Mr. Davidson is in his third year as an educator at SHP.)

Like all athletes at the highest competitive level, Tierna has faced her fair share of setbacks — including an ACL injury in 2022 that inhibited her from finishing the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League season and attending the 2023 Women’s World Cup. When asked about her mindset concerning these setbacks, Davidson recalled the challenge of trying to hold her teammates to a high standard as a leader (especially with the responsibilities at the center back position) while not feeling like she was meeting those same standards during her recovery and return. From a parent’s perspective, Mr. Davidson attributes much of her success to her steady, solid demeanor and her ability not to get flustered, even during setbacks. He remarked on Tierna’s “winning mindset and want[ing] to do her best and not let down her teammates,” which is reflected in Tierna’s call for SHP students like ourselves to recognize that you are not always going to be perfect. She emphasizes the importance of trying new things in a school like Sacred Heart — one that has so many opportunities that can lead you to discover new things about yourself. If she had never played high school soccer, she might not have found the different side to the game that the experience offered and a new sense of creativity on and off the field. Even if you think the Olympics might not be your thing, maybe you’ll find yourself taking stats for the baseball team as Tierna did, or meeting a new person.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics — although not especially impressed with the infamous chocolate muffins — Davidson highlighted the surrealness of it all especially compared to Tokyo in 2020, where fans, family, and friends were prohibited from supporting. With many setbacks along the way, she’s come a long way from first starting soccer as a young player and being called up to the senior team for the first time in 2018. Sacred Heart’s community and dedication to teaching the whole student aided Tierna Davidson in becoming independent and successful. She is able to persevere and have the flexibility to figure out her next step in life, no matter the stage. She encourages SHP students to recognize the opportunities in front of them, take advantage of them, and not let obstacles bring them down.