Hann Humphreys, Two-Sport Athletes Build Valuable Connections Among Programs

Competing in collegiate athletics can be difficult, especially at the Division I level. Between practices and games, travel schedules, academics, extracurriculars, jobs and internships, it can be hard to find a balance.

While balancing various facets of life can be difficult, especially as an athlete, those who compete in two sports while at Dartmouth take on even more of a load. Cross country and track and field athletes commonly overlap among sports, creating 43 two-sport athletes. Outside of cross country and track and field, there are seven two-sport athletes at Dartmouth.

Head Coach of the women's hockey team, Liz Keady Norton, described these student-athletes as "elite".

"They are on a different level; their discipline, focus, commitment, isn't a sometimes thing; it's an all the time thing," Keady Norton said. "I am most impressed with the discipline and focus that goes into setting yourself up for success through multiple seasons, multiple exam periods, breaks, etc. It's impressive to see a number of our players thrive in multiple spaces across campus and the athletic department."

Katie Dowty, the head coach of the rugby team agrees with Keady Norton, saying "every chance to compete and wear the green jersey is a precious opportunity. To do that in two sports is really special."

Fifth-year Hann Humphreys exemplifies just that, spending the past term as a member of both the hockey and rugby programs. Humphreys started their journey focusing on hockey, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they picked up rugby while living abroad in Denmark.
After returning to Dartmouth, Humphreys only competed in rugby, until this past season when they rejoined the hockey team.

Humphreys said they rejoined the team when asked by the coaching staff, but not before seeking advice from the rugby program. "[Katie] Dowty asked me if I thought I could help the team and if the answer was yes, then that tells me something," Humphreys said about the decision.

While Humphreys joined midseason, they immediately found success on the ice, leading the team to ties against, at the time No. 11 Princeton, and Brown in the regular season finale. They also collected wins against Union and Harvard. The 2-0 victory over Harvard marked the first regular season sweep of the Crimson since 2003-04.

Despite the success and helping the team, Humphreys said they just helped sway momentum in the right direction.

"I don't feel like I necessarily did anything out of the ordinary. I just feel like I did what everyone else on the team did. I just showed up and tried," Humphreys said. "It's easy as a goalie for close games to get attributed to you, but realistically, I was not the one that won those games. It was everyone else on the team doing their jobs."

Because of Humphreys' passion for rugby, they wanted to remain as involved with the program as they could while in season with hockey. "I really didn't want to get behind in rugby doing hockey, but I also didn't want to put myself in a bad sport for hockey by doing out of season training the way it should have been done for rugby," Humphreys said.

This is how they learned to rely on each program's coaching staffs to assist them in finding a balance that worked for them.

"Both the teams and the coaches of both teams were pretty much the reason it was possible," Humphreys said, explaining that Keady Norton allowed them to miss practice to recover or attend rugby practice instead, as well as having them do lifts with the rugby program rather than the hockey program.

Dowty accommodated Humphreys in similar ways, modifying Hann's schedule or having them make up trainings on their own time, all things Humphreys said allowed their body and mind to recover.

"Training demands of rugby and hockey are somewhat similar, so we mainly worked with our respective [strength and conditioning coaches] to be sure Hann wasn't overtraining," Dowty said. "The only catch was that goalie is a bit more isometric, so with an eye to Hann's spring rugby goals, we wanted to keep up with dynamic and explosive on-field movements, in addition to skill work. If trainings overlapped, or were at the wrong time due to fatigue, we found other times that aligned with the hockey schedule."

Keady Norton compared coaching to the service industry when explaining why her staff helped support Humphreys. "I try to look through the lens of how can I help," Keady Norton said. "As coaches, we support student athletes in any number of ways to help them grow, learn, adapt, and achieve what they are capable of and more."

While Humphreys received support from the coaches of each program to assist with balancing two sports, according to Keady Norton, the rugby team exemplified the Dartmouth Difference.

"I'm so impressed with what Coach Dowty has done with the rugby team on and off the field; I am truly grateful that it has spilled over into our program in a number of ways," Keady Norton said. "The support between the two programs is a huge reason why so many of us come to Dartmouth; for the people, the community, and to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves."

When talking about the rugby team supporting Humphreys, Dowty agreed with Keady Norton, saying "we couldn't wait to support and celebrate Hann on the ice, make some noise and back the team. It was a unique chance not only to root on one of our own, but to back one of our fellow Big Green women's teams…Connections between people are what make Dartmouth and sports special, and it was a great chance to feel the joy of those connections. It showed us how rewarding it is to lend our energy to fellow teams."

Humphreys echoed their coaches, saying the support from their rugby teammates not only solidifies their decision to pursue rugby, but also says a lot about the coaching staff for emphasizing the importance of supporting your teammates. Humphreys hopes these connections between programs continue and that hockey does the same thing for women's lacrosse, as Jenna Donohue and Ellie Morrison each transition from hockey in the fall and winter to lacrosse in the spring.

In addition to Donohue and Morrison, former member of the rugby team Anjali Pant is now a utility player for the softball program. While not currently a member of the rugby team, Pant is just another connection between multiple sports across campus.

Whether playing two sports or just one for the Big Green, Humphreys says it is all about mental positioning and finding a balance that works for you.

"I think however many sports you're playing or however many classes you're in as a student athlete, you have to be really on top of time management. Do work whenever you have a chance to do it, recover and do practice when you have to and have the chance," Humphreys said.

Schedules

Hann Humphreys, Two-Sport Athletes Build Valuable Connections Among Programs

Players Mentioned

Jenna Donohue

Hann Humphreys

Ellie Morrison

Anjali Pant

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Schedules