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A WINNING Combination Rochester Century sisters excel as multisport athletes BY JESSI PIERCE F rom the time they were young, if there was a sport that sisters Jessie and Katie Aney wanted to try, there was little hesitation to do so. To them, it seemed more fitting to try something once and decide what they liked from there. Leaving the soccer balls, basketballs and softballs behind, the two quickly fell with tennis … and hockey … and recently lacrosse. While most kids, parents and sometimes even coaches feel the need to specialize and focus on just one sport "to gain an advantage over the competition," the Aneys have made a bigger realization: They don't have to choose just one to become top athletes. "I really can't imagine myself not playing more than one sport," said Jessie, a sophomore at Rochester Century. "I feel a lot of people think they need to specialize in just one when they are young, but I just think focusing on one sport can get kind of dull and really isn't the best or only way to get ahead in the game." 12 Not only do Jessie and Katie participate in multiple sports year-round, they tend to dominate the playing field. Their accolades speak true to that. In 2011, Jessie won the Minnesota State High School Singles Championship as an eighth grader, becoming the youngest player to win the title in the state's history. Jessie continues to excel, currently ranked eighth in the nation for tennis while being an elite hockey player at the same time. Her double efforts even earned her the honor of being Aney Achievements • Going into the 2013-14 hockey season, Katie and Jessie have 327 combined points. • Jessie won the Class 2A high school state singles tennis championship as an eighth grader in 2011. Youngest ever in state history. • Katie and Jessie won the Class 2A state doubles tennis championship in 2012. • Katie was the No. 2 scorer in the state last year for high school lacrosse. • Katie is senior captain of all three sports (hockey, lacrosse, tennis). • Jessie is ranked No. 8 in the nation for tennis. • In 2010, Jessie was named Sport's Illustrated's Kid of the Year. MINNESOTAHOCKEYJOURNAL.COM // DECEMBER.2013 Sports Illustrated's 2010 Kid of the Year. Not to be outdone by her younger sibling, Katie has made her own mark in sports. The senior is captain of all three sports and last year was the No. 2 scorer in the state for girls' lacrosse. Together, the duo is even more of a threat. They captured the state doubles championship last year and together have amassed a total of 327 points heading into this year's hockey season. All in the Family At the Aney household, it's the opposite of dull. The girls, along with their 13-year-old brother Nick, also a multisport athlete, stay in a semi-routine. It's tennis in the fall, hockey in the winter, and for Katie, lacrosse in the spring all sprinkled in with fun and other recreational sports in their free time. For them, going from sport to sport just seems natural now. The girls hit the ice when they were both two, playing organized hockey by ages 5 and 7 with the Rochester Youth Hockey Association. Around the same time, the sisters were out on the clay court with rackets. Early involvement and a love for sports stemmed from the Aney parents. Athletes themselves, Tom and Karen had their own belief that a kid shouldn't become too invested into just one sport. "I think with kids and sports, you want to build them into an athlete as opposed to kids who too closely identify themselves with the success and failures of playing solely that one sport," said Tom, who played tennis himself PHOTO COUURTESY OF ANEY FAMILY Star-Powered Siblings