Minnesota Hockey Journal

by Jessi Pierce Champions Play Multiple Sports Tips said Stecklein, who helped the Gophers win three NCAA National Championships. "As you get older, it's about problem solving and figuring out the game and understanding the sport and processes— reading the plays at different speeds and those sorts of things. But playing differ- ent sports helps with that aspect too." Pannek was even presented with an opportunity to play both Division I soccer and hockey at the University of Minnesota. She ultimately decided to play just hockey, but it cemented her belief that coaches of all sports want well-rounded athletes. "I think 90 percent of college coaches would say they prefer a multisport ath- lete," she noted. "A well-rounded athlete." "Playing different sports, it's going to help you prevent injuries because you're LEE STECKLEIN AND KELLY PANNEK have won it all: NCAA National Championships, Olympic Gold Medals, PWHL Walter Cups. The Roseville and Plymouth natives, respectively, are both quick to credit a multisport upbringing to their hockey success. "I grew up in a time where you're always playing outside, playing what- ever games with the neighborhood kids, playing a bunch of different sports," said Pannek, a dual-sport varsity athlete for four years at Benilde-St. Margaret's and the 2013 Ms. Soccer winner. "I played baseball for a couple of years, I'd play basketball just in the backyard, just stuff like that. And I think that's a huge reason why I am the athlete I am now." For Stecklein, a new season always meant a new sport. "The rule in our house was, whatever season you're in, that's the priority," she said. "So, if I had something for hockey in the soccer season, I did the soccer thing and stuff like that. "As the season changed, so did my sports." BE AN ATHLETE The benefits of playing multiple sports are numerous. "I think, especially when you're younger, it's about developing overall athleticism," Photo / PWHL, Getty Images using different muscles, and so it will actually help you prolong whichever sport you might choose to do the longest." Not to mention, oftentimes what you learn in one sport can directly transfer and help you improve in another. "Soccer and hockey are possession games," said Pannek. "I mean, most sports are. It's a keep-away game. And it's the way you move and see things in lanes. So for me, it was always interesting going back and forth between the two because they're similar, just maybe at different speeds. Pannek, a midfielder in soccer, said using bursts of speed on the pitch helped her navigate the tight spaces on the ice. Stecklein, arguably the most dominant shutdown defenseman in the world over Why the world's best hockey players didn't specialize Believe it or not, Armstrong- Cooper's Kelly Pannek won the 2013 Ms. Soccer Award, but not Ms. Hockey. She's now one of the most decorated players in Minnesota hockey history. M H J ON L I N E . C O M | M A R C H 2 0 2 5 10

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