For LJCDS Student Caitlin Keane, Life Is A Two Potato Day; She Has Earned 16 varsity Letters
We’ll start with an Irish story. “We eat a lot of potatoes,” says Caitlin Keane with a grin. She tells a story from her grandfather Keane, who she never met. “He would say, ‘It’s a two-potato day.’ When it was cold, the nuns would give him one (warm) potato or two potatoes, depending on how many potatoes they had. He put them into his pocket and kept his hand warm. If there were enough potatoes, they would give him two. Then he could keep both hands warm. (Later in life) he would say, ‘It’s a two-potato day.’ That meant it was a good day.”
Keane is proud of her Irish heritage through her father Stephen, who shares her enjoyment of surfing and the ocean, as does her mother, Audrey. “We’re a surfing family,” says the graduating senior at La Jolla Country Day School.
She is also excited. At the time of the interview, her step sister Stephanie is expecting a baby. With visible excitement, Keane shares, “She’s about to have a baby any day. She’s past her due date.” The baby-on-the-way already has a name: Mallory Bleu Keane-Stevens. But Caitlin is the only child who lives at home. Her three half siblings are all in their 30s.
She also is going through mixed emotions with her graduation from Country Day. “I’ve been here since I was in the second grade,” she reminisces. “All of the experiences I’ve had here… It’s a strange sensation. It’s bittersweet. It’s weird to think I won’t be coming back after the summer.”
Told the story of a pro soccer teammate of another Keane, Robbie (no relation), Steven Gerrard, who came over from England to play for the L.A. Galaxy this year, who had previously only played for one soccer organization (Liverpool) his entire growing years and professional career and had a difficult transition in L.A., she listens and tells another story.
“When I first stepped on campus, I loved it here. I took advantage of the opportunities here. All the sports I’ve done here, all the arts, all the activities – it’s been an amazing experience. I get to continue to live in California,” next year as she enrolls at UC Santa Cruz toward her career goal of being a marine biologist.
She set a nearly impossible goal for herself in sports before she began her ninth grade year for the Torreys. She wanted to earn 16 varsity letters. She could do it at the small private school, running cross country in the fall, playing water polo in the winter, and swimming in the spring. Meanwhile, she would surf on the school surfing team.
“It’s basically all the sports seasons,” she explains of the last sport. Plus she would be able to participate in all the sports at the varsity level from her freshman year – pretty difficult to achieve at a larger school.
“I’ve done that all my years in high school. I completed it, and I’m really proud of myself,” the 17-year-old says frankly. Her LJCD letter jacket, which she sends a reporter a photo of, complete with all 16 seasons represented, is loaded with figures for each sport and metal bars for each season within the sport. It is full.
How did she do it, and complete her college-prep curriculum and still keep her sanity? “I have a crazy schedule,” she admits. While obviously being very task-oriented and organized herself, she says her mother has supportively kept on her to help ensure she meets each deadline and fulfills each requirement.
“If you have a swim meet two times a week, and a surfing contest from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., plus if you have homework,” she says, giving an idea of what it’s like inside the Keane hamster wheel.
Several times during the interview, she waves to ninth-graders who she has paired up with a fellow senior to be a peer leader to. Somehow in the midst of this hectic schedule, she has squeezed in being available to others on campus.
“We have 12 to 14 ninth-graders,” she says. “It’s co-ed, boys and girls. It’s been one of the most amazing things I’ve done. When you impact another person, there is nothing like it.” She is very enthusiastic, and she uses “amazing” not infrequently.
In addition, she has talked with seventh- and eighth-grade girls “about well-being and loving yourself. I just got a letter from a life coach (counselor) on campus,” she says. The letter thanked her for the positive influence she had on younger students.
Despite her frenzied schedule to achieve 16 varsity letters, she says she stills knows people and takes time with them. At the start of the interview, says, “I have unlimited time.”
“I’m a pretty empathetic person. I can read people pretty well,” she states in a way that comes off as forthrightness rather than bragging in the course of a one-hour conversation. “One day, one boy in my group looked a little down. I stopped him and asked him, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ He opened up. He was having health problems. He was worried about surgery on his heart. Later he said thank you. He said having me around during his freshman year really made a difference.”
Her love affair with the ocean began at age 6 months. “My dad put me on a surfboard. My mom wasn’t there the first time,” she recounts, laughing.
Enjoying sports and encouraged to take risks by her father Steve, she would come home with “trophies” – scrapes and bruises from falling. Her mother played the role of the parent cautioning her to be safe. “I was never injured. I would go around and show my bumps, ‘Ha-ha, I have a trophy.’”
Now, looking ahead to her career preparation and desired profession as a researcher, she appreciates the good things the water provides for her. She uses it for a reset.
“Wanting to be a marine biologist and thinking of everything the ocean gives to us – to see how big it is, it makes my problem seem small. I forget my worry. Just live in the moment. I don’t think people take the time to do this.”
Sports, including ones in the water, also provide a stress release. “Sports have always been an escape for me,” she reveals. “I’ve gotten through my tough times this way.”
Her father has been a strong influence. “There are quotes I live by. My dad taught me early on, ‘Never give up. Never surrender.’ When I was junior lifeguarding when I was pretty young, I was in a seven-mile run. I have asthma. I was having an asthma attack. Someone said, ‘You can stop. You don’t have to keep going.’ I said, ‘No, I have to finish.’ I did. That’s an experience I’ll always remember. To push through the tough times.”
Another quote is from the Navy Seals, who provided training at one point as part of the Junior Lifeguard program: “The only easy day was yesterday.” “That really means a lot,” says Keane.
It apparently has served her well in her pursuit of excellence, which includes three years going to the state race in CIF cross country – broken up this spring only because she had a college essay due for UC Santa Cruz – and the CIF San Diego Section preliminaries in swimming.
Her “chill” time comes walking Buddy, the family “Lab/mutt mix, a rescue dog from El Centro,” near Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Keanes also have a tortoise, Tiny, a male. “He was little, tiny, at first,” says Caitlin, showing how small with her fingers. “My sister called her ‘Medium’, then ‘Medium Large’. Sometimes I take him around the block. If I walk backwards, he’ll crawl. He goes right up to my toes.” A betta fish named Harold rounds out the menagerie. “He’s a good fish,” she says when asked if as a betta he attacks. “He comes up to my finger when I put it in the aquarium.”
“Now that I drive, everyday I go to the water. I watch the surfers. It’s my chill time. The ocean is my escape. I can walk on the beach and the sand. It washes away all my stress, all my anxiety. When I drive home, I cross Torrey Pines Road. I look down and see the water. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, it takes my breath away.”
Read more: San Diego Community News Group - For Caitlin Keane life is a two potato day LJCD student has earned 16 varsity letters
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She is also excited. At the time of the interview, her step sister Stephanie is expecting a baby. With visible excitement, Keane shares, “She’s about to have a baby any day. She’s past her due date.” The baby-on-the-way already has a name: Mallory Bleu Keane-Stevens. But Caitlin is the only child who lives at home. Her three half siblings are all in their 30s.
She also is going through mixed emotions with her graduation from Country Day. “I’ve been here since I was in the second grade,” she reminisces. “All of the experiences I’ve had here… It’s a strange sensation. It’s bittersweet. It’s weird to think I won’t be coming back after the summer.”
Told the story of a pro soccer teammate of another Keane, Robbie (no relation), Steven Gerrard, who came over from England to play for the L.A. Galaxy this year, who had previously only played for one soccer organization (Liverpool) his entire growing years and professional career and had a difficult transition in L.A., she listens and tells another story.
“When I first stepped on campus, I loved it here. I took advantage of the opportunities here. All the sports I’ve done here, all the arts, all the activities – it’s been an amazing experience. I get to continue to live in California,” next year as she enrolls at UC Santa Cruz toward her career goal of being a marine biologist.
She set a nearly impossible goal for herself in sports before she began her ninth grade year for the Torreys. She wanted to earn 16 varsity letters. She could do it at the small private school, running cross country in the fall, playing water polo in the winter, and swimming in the spring. Meanwhile, she would surf on the school surfing team.
“It’s basically all the sports seasons,” she explains of the last sport. Plus she would be able to participate in all the sports at the varsity level from her freshman year – pretty difficult to achieve at a larger school.
“I’ve done that all my years in high school. I completed it, and I’m really proud of myself,” the 17-year-old says frankly. Her LJCD letter jacket, which she sends a reporter a photo of, complete with all 16 seasons represented, is loaded with figures for each sport and metal bars for each season within the sport. It is full.
How did she do it, and complete her college-prep curriculum and still keep her sanity? “I have a crazy schedule,” she admits. While obviously being very task-oriented and organized herself, she says her mother has supportively kept on her to help ensure she meets each deadline and fulfills each requirement.
“If you have a swim meet two times a week, and a surfing contest from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., plus if you have homework,” she says, giving an idea of what it’s like inside the Keane hamster wheel.
Several times during the interview, she waves to ninth-graders who she has paired up with a fellow senior to be a peer leader to. Somehow in the midst of this hectic schedule, she has squeezed in being available to others on campus.
“We have 12 to 14 ninth-graders,” she says. “It’s co-ed, boys and girls. It’s been one of the most amazing things I’ve done. When you impact another person, there is nothing like it.” She is very enthusiastic, and she uses “amazing” not infrequently.
In addition, she has talked with seventh- and eighth-grade girls “about well-being and loving yourself. I just got a letter from a life coach (counselor) on campus,” she says. The letter thanked her for the positive influence she had on younger students.
Despite her frenzied schedule to achieve 16 varsity letters, she says she stills knows people and takes time with them. At the start of the interview, says, “I have unlimited time.”
“I’m a pretty empathetic person. I can read people pretty well,” she states in a way that comes off as forthrightness rather than bragging in the course of a one-hour conversation. “One day, one boy in my group looked a little down. I stopped him and asked him, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ He opened up. He was having health problems. He was worried about surgery on his heart. Later he said thank you. He said having me around during his freshman year really made a difference.”
Her love affair with the ocean began at age 6 months. “My dad put me on a surfboard. My mom wasn’t there the first time,” she recounts, laughing.
Enjoying sports and encouraged to take risks by her father Steve, she would come home with “trophies” – scrapes and bruises from falling. Her mother played the role of the parent cautioning her to be safe. “I was never injured. I would go around and show my bumps, ‘Ha-ha, I have a trophy.’”
Now, looking ahead to her career preparation and desired profession as a researcher, she appreciates the good things the water provides for her. She uses it for a reset.
“Wanting to be a marine biologist and thinking of everything the ocean gives to us – to see how big it is, it makes my problem seem small. I forget my worry. Just live in the moment. I don’t think people take the time to do this.”
Sports, including ones in the water, also provide a stress release. “Sports have always been an escape for me,” she reveals. “I’ve gotten through my tough times this way.”
Her father has been a strong influence. “There are quotes I live by. My dad taught me early on, ‘Never give up. Never surrender.’ When I was junior lifeguarding when I was pretty young, I was in a seven-mile run. I have asthma. I was having an asthma attack. Someone said, ‘You can stop. You don’t have to keep going.’ I said, ‘No, I have to finish.’ I did. That’s an experience I’ll always remember. To push through the tough times.”
Another quote is from the Navy Seals, who provided training at one point as part of the Junior Lifeguard program: “The only easy day was yesterday.” “That really means a lot,” says Keane.
It apparently has served her well in her pursuit of excellence, which includes three years going to the state race in CIF cross country – broken up this spring only because she had a college essay due for UC Santa Cruz – and the CIF San Diego Section preliminaries in swimming.
Her “chill” time comes walking Buddy, the family “Lab/mutt mix, a rescue dog from El Centro,” near Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The Keanes also have a tortoise, Tiny, a male. “He was little, tiny, at first,” says Caitlin, showing how small with her fingers. “My sister called her ‘Medium’, then ‘Medium Large’. Sometimes I take him around the block. If I walk backwards, he’ll crawl. He goes right up to my toes.” A betta fish named Harold rounds out the menagerie. “He’s a good fish,” she says when asked if as a betta he attacks. “He comes up to my finger when I put it in the aquarium.”
“Now that I drive, everyday I go to the water. I watch the surfers. It’s my chill time. The ocean is my escape. I can walk on the beach and the sand. It washes away all my stress, all my anxiety. When I drive home, I cross Torrey Pines Road. I look down and see the water. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, it takes my breath away.”
Read more: San Diego Community News Group - For Caitlin Keane life is a two potato day LJCD student has earned 16 varsity letters
