Nearly 1,000 students participate in varsity sports at Dartmouth, and each dedicates significant time and energy to their respective sports. Among them is his even smaller community of 43 athletes who are talented in two different sports.
Three athletes discussed the social, mental, and physical balance that comes with competing on two national team rosters. Han Humphries ’23 plays hockey and rugby, Jenna Donahue ’24 plays hockey and lacrosse, and Quintin Campbell ’25 plays squash and lacrosse.
All three athletes said the time restrictions imposed by the NCAA create challenges when balancing multiple sports. Current national regulations state that athletes may not perform more than 20 hours of countable athletic activity per week during the season and 8 hours per week outside of the season. For Donahue, Humphries and Campbell, that means playing one sport while completely away from the other.
For example, Donahue said she spends most of the fall and winter semesters on the hockey team. She will join the lacrosse team in mid-February, right after the hockey season ends.
“During hockey season, I try to attend lacrosse team dinners, meetings with coaches, and general check-ins,” Donahue said. “We're trying to do as much as we can without violating NCAA rules.”
Humphries, a goalie for the women's national hockey team and a flanker and lock for the women's national rugby team, was scouted by Dartmouth for hockey in 2019, but the hockey season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. said. Humphries then began playing rugby while studying abroad in Denmark, eventually joining Dartmouth's rugby team in 2021. Humphries eventually returned to her varsity hockey team in her final year at Dartmouth, where she became a two-sport athlete, she said.
“Once I got the opportunity to step into the rugby team here, I never looked back,” Humphries said. “But the hockey team didn't have enough goalies. We had a goalie, but because of NCAA rules, goalies also have to dress on the bench.” They asked me if I wanted to help, so I did, but rugby is still my main sport.”
According to Dartmouth Sports, Humphries has excelled on the ice this year, scoring wins against Harvard (34-save shutout win) and Union University.
Donahue plays as a forward on the varsity women's hockey team and as an attack on the women's lacrosse team. Unlike Humphries, Donahue made verbal commitments to both teams at the time of her recruitment, and she said she came to Dartmouth with the intention of playing in both sports.
Donahue said maintaining a love for both sports is essential to both athletic and academic success, adding, “It's more fun and I feel like it's more fun.” [she] When you feel productive [she’s] in season. ”
After playing on the ice hockey team in the winter, Donahue will switch to lacrosse in the spring.
“Going into lacrosse season, I had teammates and coaches who were accepting and welcoming,” she said.
Campbell also splits his time between the winter and spring teams. He plays on the men's varsity squash team during the winter and plays midfield on the men's varsity lacrosse team in the spring. Campbell said managing both sports is “time consuming but rewarding.”
“It’s great to be able to work across two teams throughout the year,” he said. “I have made many lifelong friendships through both teams.”
Campbell added that he takes care of himself both on and offseason and tries to stay in touch with coaches and players from both teams.
In addition to their love for the sport itself, Campbell and Donahue said playing two sports provides a rewarding social opportunity.
“Between the squash team and the lacrosse team, we have about 50 players, I think 50 of us are really close friends,” Campbell said. “I don't find it difficult to balance my social life because these guys have a built-in social life with two groups. We have to be ready to play.”
Donahue said she feels the same way, saying the hockey team is the center of her social life in the winter, while lacrosse is the focus in the fall and spring.
