South St. Paul athlete Alida Ahern uses sports as a release when anxiety emerges

South St. Paul senior Alida Ahern brings a certain mentality to playing two sports this fall.

Whether as a soccer goalie or a kicker for the Packers football team, Ahern, whose first name is pronounced "ah-LEE-dah," leaves fear on the sideline when it's time to play.

"I'm not afraid to take a chance at going for a ball," she said of her goalkeeping style.

This season, Ahern booted her first successful field goal in a game, a 26-yard kick in a loss at St. Croix Lutheran. She added two more field goals against North St. Paul. As for joining the football team, Ahern said, "I just had to go in there with no fear."

Fear, or dread, best described her father's reaction when receiving a phone call from a South St. Paul assistant principal. That's because when you're dealing with a child battling generalized anxiety, an innocuous phone call doesn't exist.

"I would just wait for the phone call," Pat Ahern said. "It would be, 'This happened again today. What are we going to do about it?' "

What could Pat or his ex-wife, Kim Baker, do? Their daughter had already transferred from Cretin-Derham Hall during her sophomore year. All they could do was try to support and encourage Alida through her journey out of the dark.

"She is never going to not defend herself," Pat said. "She would get into verbal confrontations with other kids, and with social media and using her phone 24/7, it just fueled her anxiety. She worked with counselors and learned to walk away, to be considerate of other kids. She wanted to graduate, and she didn't want her sports taken from her."

Her four sports are soccer, football, hockey and golf, and Alida realized continuing on her path could result in her losing the chance to participate.

She described the process of "checking back into reality" and fighting her own mental challenges of "not wanting to go to school, not wanting to go to practice. None of that."

"Sports are kind of my outlet," Ahern said. "Being able to go out after school with no pressure, you can just be a kid and be with your friends. You're there to play your sport."

Hockey coach Dave Palmquist is among those who have witnessed a change.

"This past year, I saw a 180-degree mindset shift," said Palmquist, who named Ahern one of his senior captains this season. "Her mindset has changed from worrying about what others think of her to being the best version of herself. You have to be able to change yourself, and I've seen that maturity. She is facing her struggles with dignity and pride."

Ahern counts her family and friends as her support system, and her faith is growing in importance. She started joining teammates on Wednesdays at Crossroads Church in Woodbury and plans to resume attending this fall. She wears a tattoo of a small cross on her left wrist. Just above, on her left forearm, reads, "Love Dad," a signature in permanent ink she took from a card.

Alida almost took the family record for longest field goal from her dad as well, but her 50-yard try against Hill-Murray fell a yard short. Pat's mark of 48 yards still stands.

"I used to get super nervous before games," Alida said. "Now, it's just a game. Same with school. It used to be a big thing, but now it's just school. I take it day by day."

She lives by the phrase inked into her right arm: "Everything happens for a reason."

The phrase is a favorite of her mother's, who supported Ahern during the interview with South St. Paul decisionmakers pondering the transfer decision.

Baker remembers one of those administrators telling her daughter, "The story of your challenges, how you picked yourself up and where you're going to come out in the end — it's going to mean a lot to colleges."

"She really does have a great heart for others," said Baker, a former multisport athlete at Prior Lake and Eagan high schools. "She just doesn't always show it to others right away."