Minnesota Hockey Journal

the past decade, took a different role on the lacrosse field as a forward, providing a nice mix-up from the shutdown role on the ice. "It helps you appreciate how hard it is to score and helps you learn different avenues to score, and then I transferred that into my defensive game too," she said. "Plus, it was just kind of nice to try out a different position." TAKE A BREAK Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing. "There are kids out there who are going to love playing one sport, and they're going to want to keep doing it all the time," explained Pannek. "So I try to remind them to find something that you love outside of it because you don't want to lose that love at the same time. "Yeah, it's fun and it's a game, but there are going to be moments where it's hard, and the schedule and the weight rooms and all of those chal- lenging points can really make you lose interest, so why not miss it while you can and take a break after a season." " When soccer season ended, I was always excited to pull out the hockey gear. Being able to switch just kind of takes your mind off overthinking about your season or that sport. If I had played just hockey all the way through, I don't know that I'd be a hockey player today." Stecklein agrees. "It was always nice to know that a change in sports was coming," said Stecklein. "I liked hockey. I liked being at the rink, but I always looked forward to that change of sports with different people, different groups, and different roles. I played defense for hockey but was offense in lacrosse, so that was extra fun, too." 'IF YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH, YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH' You don't need to sign up for year-round hockey to be seen. "A lot of times people get the miscon- ception that more is better. More ice time, more time doing this and that," said Pannek. "And sometimes, as parents and as kids, you feel that if you're not doing this camp or doing this training, you might be missing out on being seen by certain coaches or miss an opportu- nity for a certain camp invite. But when you're a young athlete, having another spot helps you balance your mindset in a different way while allowing you to still be in a competitive environment. Kids need those different outlets." Stecklein reiterates her teammate's point: "The good players will always be sought out. You don't have to go out of your way to prove your skill set. If you have the ability to make those select teams or to earn recognition from a col- lege coach, stuff like that, it will come. They won't care that you were busy play- ing soccer during soccer season." "I think 90 percent of college coaches would say they prefer a multisport athlete." - Lee Stecklein Roseville's Lee Stecklein, one of the top defensemen in the world, played soccer, lacrosse and tennis in high school. M A R C H 2 0 2 5 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 11 Left to Right: Nick Seeler (Eden Prairie), Nate Schmidt (St. Cloud) and Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie) all played multiple sports growing up in Minnesota.

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