After being a part of something for such a long time, it’s often hard to accept that it’s time to move on.
Ashleigh Cleary has been a part of the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team for the past five years, but her impending graduation means she will no longer be suiting up for the Ravens next fall — a reality she’s still coping with.
“I don’t really know what to do with myself,” Cleary said. “There’s always this point in the season where it’s over, but just knowing that it’s not really going to start back up again for me . . . I feel like I’m floating in a little world where I need to find a new hobby for myself.”
Cleary’s departure signals the end to a storied career that didn’t have the traditional beginning of many university athletes.
She wasn’t recruited by any post-secondary schools, and her Ravens career began as a walk-on player. It’s rare for an athlete to walk on to a team from open tryouts, let alone generate a considerable impact.
However, Cleary’s journey defied the odds, when her dream of playing university basketball led her to become one of the core members who brought the Ravens women’s basketball program out of obscurity.
“I wasn’t expecting any of it,” Cleary said. “You don’t really know what you’re getting into when you’re a walk-on player. You think you’re going to be playing basketball, but it’s so much more than that.”
One influential person who has been there for every step of Cleary’s progression is Ravens head coach Taffe Charles, who coincidentally began his Carleton coaching tenure five years ago in the same season Cleary joined the team.
“I got a reference from a friend of mine who coached her in high school, since I didn’t know much about her,” Charles said. “She was just one of those kids who worked hard and started improving with the more confidence she got. I’m definitely going to miss her a lot because I’ve really seen her grow up.”
Charles said Cleary’s work ethic and character made her a joy to coach.
“I’ve coached about 21 years and she is probably one of my top five kids, men or women, in terms of enjoying coaching,” he said. “She developed and became a better player every year, and she was definitely an over-achiever at the end of it. We’re going to have a difficult time adjusting to not having her around next year.”
Cleary’s journey left several lasting memories, most notably leading the Ravens to their first appearance in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final 8 last year.
Charles said one particular memory at nationals perfectly defined Cleary’s resiliency.
“She twisted her ankle last year in our quarter-final game at nationals, and she ended up playing the rest of the game with what she could manage,” he said. “Her injury got really bad the next day and we played a meaningless consolation game where she could barely even walk, but there was no question that she was going to play.”
Although Carleton lost both their games in the tournament, Cleary said the experience was the highlight of her Ravens career.
“There are the big memories, like making it to nationals last year, which was amazing,” she said. “But there are also the little things, like seeing my friends day-to-day. Those girls become your family, almost like your sisters, because you see them every day.”
