Ivy Santana (Seneca): Former Tewaaraton Award Winner Plays For University of Albany

By Dan Ninham

Ivy Santana garnered major accomplishments along her lacrosse competition journey. She was named the female recipient of the Tewaaraton Award, as the top high school lacrosse player in the country. She was named a two-time US Lacrosse All American. Ivy currently plays for the University of Albany.

“I’m from the Seneca Nation located in Irving New York,” said Ivy. “I’m wolf clan.”

“I’m 20 years old. I play at the University of Albany and am currently halfway through my junior year,” added Ivy.

“Honestly, sports have always been a huge part of my family’s life long before I was on the earth,” said Ivy. “When I was a little girl, I would go to my father and brother’s lacrosse games all the time. My younger sister and I, Beretta, joined our community’s local lacrosse program. Which was Seneca Girls. We fell in love with the game instantly. My dad always says that when he first saw my sister and I pick up a stick, he knew we were in it for the long run.”

“Eventually, others had started to notice our potential and dedication,” said Ivy. “We first learned how to play the game back at home, with our local girls’ team the ‘Seneca Girls.’ Claudia Jimerson started the Seneca Girls and told my dad about travel teams and how they could help get us recruited for college. We played for ‘Lady Roc.’ My father would drive my sister, Beretta, and I an hour and forty minutes to go to practice two days out of the week for only an hour practice in Rochester, NY. Sometimes we would have to leave school early by 30 minutes to get to practice on time. Eventually, other girls from our territory also joined the travel team so our parents would rotate for who was driving. I remember sometimes getting home at midnight after everyone was done getting dropped off at home, but it was always worth it.”

“I was very grateful to be able to play for ‘Lady Roc,’ said Ivy. “The coaches taught us more than how to score goals. They taught us discipline and respect.”

“With the help of ‘Lady Roc,’ I started getting recognized by colleges,” said Ivy. “It was crazy to think that I actually had a shot at getting a scholarship. My father started researching and asking my coaches about the recruitment process because he was relatively new to it.”

“I was going to camps and visiting colleges,” said Ivy. “I never imagined I was even going to financially be able to afford it. On top of that I got the chance to be able to travel almost every other weekend throughout the year, just to compete against some of the best lacrosse players my age.”

Indigenous student-athletes tribal core values define who their identity is.

“Growing up there was one thing I was always taught,” said Ivy. “To always be thankful. Everyday I’m thankful for the opportunities this game has given me and the places it has taken me too.”

“Respect and giving back are also a huge value to my people. I have taken these two concepts and implemented them into my game. When walking off the field I want to be able to feel good about myself and feel like I’ve grown as a person,” added Ivy.

“Although the women’s game is completely different than the men’s game, it still helps clear my mind,” said Ivy. “I can never really be upset going and playing lacrosse. Being able to step on the field every day reminds me of home.”

“Without my father, David Santana Sr., I wouldn’t be here without him,” said Ivy. “He worked constantly all the time then would drive for hours on the weekends to get us to a camp or tournament. He never once showed us that he was tired, or anything less than excited to watch us play lacrosse. He once pulled an all-nighter to get me to a lacrosse tournament after my Junior Prom, then watched me play lacrosse the whole afternoon after.”

“If I’m being honest, I have no idea how my dad was always ready for the next weekend. What I love most about my dad is that he not only supported us but he also critiqued us. Whether it was that I should’ve passed the ball instead of shooting or keeping my head up even after making a mistake or working harder to get the ball back after losing it. His goal was to only take me to the next level,” added Ivy.

“Ivy is unique,” said dad Dave Santana. “At a young age I knew she was into athletics and competition. I saw her swing a bat and throw a softball, and I said to myself ‘this girl can ball!’  Whether it was cheerleading, basketball, softball or lacrosse she was just a tough kid. Always willing to do the dirty job that most kids shied away from. That ‘can do attitude’ is what stands out to me as a father. She loves assists more than goals, rebounds in basketball even though she played guard, and motivating teammate’s even when losing was the outcome.”                

“Lacrosse became important to her at a early age,” said Dave. “So early that I remember the day she asked if she could play fall lacrosse instead of little loop football cheerleading. That summer Ivy began showing some traits on the lacrosse field that took notice of other coaches on some competitive travel teams. The rest is history as her growth on and off the field began to flourish.  I wouldn’t change those long trips to tournaments or the talks we had after a win or loss for anything.”                                                                                                                                      

“As Ivy got older she began to find herself,” said Dave. “That showed up one time when a travel coach asked Ivy to play for his team. Here is the thing, they wanted Ivy to come and play goalie for them. Our local ‘Seneca Girls Team’ needed someone to play goalie for a couple of games.  Ivy jumped right in and was a wall. Stopped all kinds of shots with her body and stick. Off the shin’s, arm, and helmet. Another coach asked Ivy if she would come and play goalie for his team at a couple of tournaments. Ivy played the attack position but this coach told Ivy ‘we have enough attack players but could really use a goalie.’  She politely told the coach thank you but she plays attack.”

“What I was impressed with that day was her ability to speak up for herself and know what she wanted,” said Dave. “She took a chance by not joining that team because they were really good.  I told her she should have taken the offer, but at that age she was focused. The next season she tried out for another travel team, made the team and every tournament that she played that guys team she made it a point to dish out a couple extra assists and score one or two goals.”

“Ivy tore her knee up really bad recently,” said Dave. “The way she tackled the rehab and mental obstacles of this setback I have no doubt as a father my little girl with be just fine out in the real world. She makes me proud on and off the field each day.”  

“Being an older sister, Beretta Santana kind of added pressure to wanting to set a good example,” said Ivy. “My sister continuously influenced and pushed me to this day. She’s a defender, which means we butt heads a lot since I’m an attacker. My sister and I have always talked about how we wanted to play in the World Games together in the summer 2020. For a while it was true, until I tore my ACL freshman year. I went from being the captain of the U19 Haudenosaunee team to having to watch my sister, cousins, teammates, and my college coaches’ coach and play while I watched on the sideline. To this day, she helps motivate me to want to get better physically and mentally. Whether it’s stick work or her playing defense on me, we constantly push each other.”

“My sister Ivy, is an extraordinarily leader,” said Beretta Santana. “She’s able to push and motivate people to the next level. From when we were eight to nine years old and to this day, people look up or come to her for advice.”

“In high school, our lacrosse team had so many talented players,” said Beretta. “Our coach wanted the team to be able to play other teams that were going to push us. Our coach started scheduling Rochester teams, because those were the teams we had to beat to get to states.”

“I remember one of the first Rochester teams we played,” said Beretta. “I remember our team being down by 5 at halftime. Ivy stood up and said ‘the scores 0-0, let’s go guys.’ She almost ignored the fact that we were down by five goals. We finished the game winning by three points, and Ivy had eight points that game. Everyone was jumping around, and Ivy just stood still trying to catch her breath. When the assistant coach walked up to Ivy and told her she had eight goals, she smiled and kept walking. Just by the way she walked to the locker room you could tell that Ivy gave her all during that game.”

Having an older sister that would give her all like that in a game and barely be able to walk to the locker room, that’s a different kind of leader,” said Beretta. “Knowing our captain was struggling to simply walk to the locker room after games because she just went 100% the entire game, only made our team want to work just as hard. She made sure our team had rides to and from practices. A lot of times she even offered her money if someone didn’t have money at the time to eat. She didn’t only care for us on the field but she also watched out for us off the field too.” 

“A mentor I’ve had the chance to work with was Sandy Jemison,” said Ivy. “I’m not even sure how long she has been coaching me because she’s been there since I was a little girl just starting off to learn the game. She always pushed and supported the girls back at home as if we were one of her own. To this day, she is still cheering for me.”

Top athletes need to balance the holistic areas of performance during the pandemic to be at the elite level of their game: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

“For a while it was hard for me to adjust to a schedule,” said Ivy. “Honestly, I’ve been taking advantage of this time to really work on myself. I’ll spend the morning on going on a run and workout, then in the afternoon I usually go to work, and at night I would try to do something that focused on myself. After tearing my ACL, I’ve learned so much about how important your mental health is.  Physically, you can be the strongest but when going against someone just as strong it comes down to the mental strength. ‘Your biggest opponent is yourself.’ That’s one of my favorite quotes.”

“Physically, I make sure to take an hour and a half to two hours being active every day,” said Ivy. “With that comes fueling myself right and getting enough sleep.”

“Emotionally when I feel myself feeling down, I try to do something that will cheer me up,” said Ivy. “Whether it’s going and shooting around or running around with my dog.”

“Mentally and spiritually, I make sure to spend at least 30 minutes to myself before going to sleep. Whether it’s reading a book, stretching, breathing or just watching my favorite TV show.”

Ivy shared a moment when she knew she was going to improve to a high level: “Recovering from an ACL tear. Not only working to get back to where I was before but to be better than before.” Photo Credit: Bill Ziskin