Remembering Saratoga Springs’ Olivia Allen
Portions of content courtesy of The Daily Gazette and Times Union
Saratoga Springs High School field hockey athlete and gymnast Olivia Allen passed away this past March after losing her year-long battle with leukemia. The legacy of courage, kindness and love she leaves behind will never be forgotten by the many people whose lives she touched.
Allen joined the Saratoga Springs field hockey team when she was a seventh grader. She made the varsity team as a junior, playing two years for coach Jo-Anne Hostig, who knew right away she was dealing with a special person.
“It didn’t matter if you were a stranger or someone she just met,” said Hostig. “The minute she would walk into a room she was able to light it up. Whoever she came in contact with, she always had such a positivity about her, an aura about her that would just make you smile. She would say something, and it would be even more precious. Just by what she did and how she was to so, so many people.”
“Once she was diagnosed with leukemia, she showed it even more. People that were around her and loved her, she just helped so many people in her short-lived life now that she has passed.”
During her battle, Allen became known for the mantra #LivLikeLiv, as she was steadfast in remaining positive, regardless of what life threw her way.
- Kyle Adams / The Daily Gazette
- Kyle Adams / The Daily Gazette
After the leukemia diagnosis in early June of 2023, Allen was faced with another setback when she suffered a stroke later that same month. Unable to attend her high school graduation, she had a special ceremony in her honor at Melodies Center at Albany Medical Center in July.
Through it all, she maintained a positive outlook, finding time to help others and playing a big part in the school district’s Best Buddies and Unified Sports Programs for developmentally challenged students.
“She packed her lifetime into every single day that she was alive,” added Hostig. “She was wise beyond her years and didn’t know how to not be positive. I saw her many times over the last few months that she had the leukemia and she’s up in the cancer ward and she says, ‘You have to keep positive, you have to keep fighting.’”
“Even at Albany Med, she was helping all the other cancer patients. That’s her, all the time, at school, everywhere she went. She was such a positive person to anyone that was around.”
Allen’s can-do attitude and refusal to let her circumstances slow her down will serve as inspiration to all that met her, Hostig feels.
“She will live long beyond now with a legacy, she definitely has a legacy,” continued Hostig. “That says a lot for an 18 year-old. She could have been mad at the world, but she wasn’t. She took it all in stride. All her complications, all that was going on and it reached beyond our community. It speaks volumes for the impact she had on all of us.”
- Times Union
- Times Union
“I had the privilege to coach Olivia Grace Allen through the 2022-23 season,” commented Varad Rajulu, Saratoga Springs High School Assistant Coach. “She tackled every challenge that came her way in life and on the field with smile and absolute grace. Olivia was dedicated to field hockey, putting in consistent effort and time to improve their skills and performance. She was open to feedback and very coachable. She had strong work ethic, consistently pushing beyond her comfort zone and giving her best effort in every training session and competition. She did all that by maintaining a positive attitude, even in challenging circumstances, is something key to mention.”
“Olivia was a true pleasure to coach - a coaches' dream and we will miss Olivia every day.”
Please join USA Field Hockey in sending condolences to Olivia’s family, friends and community, and remembering her positive impact on the field hockey community.