Middlebury's multiple multiple sport athletes

Author: Jeff Patterson

Most college students have multiple credit cards and have guzzled multiple alcoholic beverages in a single sitting, but few can say they play multiple sports at the varsity level. At Middlebury College, however, 48 student athletes, not counting cross-country runners who participated on the track and field team, competed in at least two different sports last year.

"As a student and with coaching I've always felt Middlebury has had an active student body, whether it is participating in varsity sports, intramural sports, or being a recreational skier," said athletic director (AD) Erin Quinn '86, who played football (captaining the team his senior year) and also coached the men's lacrosse and football teams before taking over as AD.

"Our league does not allow you to have a non-traditional season," said Quinn, which motivates athletes to play a different sport if they want to stay active. While D-I football teams have spring ball, Middlebury football players have baseball, last year eight football players also played baseball.

For these athletes, this undertaking requires discipline, flexibility, and of course athletic ability. "It requires a commitment, and a sacrifice of one's free time and the control of one's own schedule," said Quinn. "You're locked up in terms of the time your sport practices."

Popular paired sports included football with track and field and field hockey with lacrosse. Almost every sport the college offers boasts a player who plays on another team. For example, the center on the basketball team spent his spring throwing the discus and several cross country runners also cross-country skied.

"I was recruited for football, but I mentioned to the coaches that I played baseball, too," said John Lanahan '08. "I was told that Middlebury encouraged two-sport athletes and that I should definitely come out for the baseball team."

Lanahan did in fact try out, and after hitting .395 and belting 7 homers last year, he will be the captain of the Middlebury Nine this spring.

The College's flexibility for these flexible athletes is appealing to many application-filling students. "It's one of the good things about Division-III athletics," said Karen Levin '08, a golfer and hockey player. "I could have gone to a D-I hockey program [Dartmouth, Harvard or Yale], but I decided on Division-III so I could play both hockey and golf." Steve Hauschka '07 "planned on playing soccer at Middlebury, but walked on to the football team and walked on to the lacrosse team [instead]." For Lanahan, Levin and Hauschka it has been the ultimate one for two trade.

John Sales '07, the Middlebury poster boy for multiple sport athletes will play soccer in the fall, hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the spring, just like he has during his previous three years here. When asked which smells the worst, Sales' soccer shinguards, hockey gloves, or lacrosse gloves, John replied, "Without a doubt hockey gloves… there's not much you can to do get rid of [the stench]."

"It's not a school where if you were a dominant soccer player and a mediocre lacrosse player, you could play both, so many of the sports are so strong," said Quinn. Still, Sales plays three. "I don't do anything spectacularly well," said Sales modestly. "There are always guys that are better [at each sport]." Good luck finding someone half as versatile as number 29.

"I really enjoy doing all three," said Sales, currently the only athlete at the College who plays three sports. "I came [to Middlebury] because it meant that I did not have to give up a sport, and I could keep playing all of them at a high level. It's a unique place. The coaches are more than willing to work with you. It would be a lot harder somewhere else."

With as much talent as Sales has, it's no wonder coaches are willing to work. "[John] has a tremendous understanding of sports and spatial awareness," said 8-time NCAA champion hockey coach Bill Beaney. "He knows where every man on the ice, or field, is at all times and he is able to make good decisions. He's also very composed. He has scored so many big goals for us especially during the playoffs."

Sales scored the game-winner in the 2005 NESCAC Hockey Championship and has tallied 9 career playoff hockey goals over the course of three years, all of which culminated in national championship titles. "Players look up to him," said Beaney. "He has that ability to make those players around him better. That's the greatest tribute."

Are the vacations paid? "I'm definitely busiest during the month of November," said Sales. "It's the end of the soccer playoff stretch and my body feels pretty drained after all of that running. I take a couple of days off, but the hockey season picks up by Thanksgiving with the PrimeLink Shootout." November, Sales pointed out, is much tougher than the March transition from hockey to lacrosse, where he takes a break during spring break, so he can get the spring back in his step.

Levin doesn't have much free time either. She plays on the number six ranked women's golf team in both the fall and spring, as well as hockey during the winter. Her hockey bag, she thinks, is a little bit heavier than her golf one, but both are filled with right-handed sticks.

"It's hardest in the fall. I go to golf, then to hockey preseason. I have two practices a day," said Levin. She recalled being a little tired when she played in the Jekyll Island Invitational Golf Tournament last spring: "We won the [hockey] National Championship on Saturday, came back Saturday night, and I left with the golf team the next morning [for Jekyll Island, Ga.]. I didn't sleep that night, I'm not going to lie." Regardless, Levin shot an 80 on the final day.

Despite the time commitment required, most multiple sport athletes agree that they are most productive during the season. "When I'm in season, that's when I get things done," said Lanahan. "You're forced to do [your homework] because you have a smaller time table."

Steve Hauschka agrees: "As far as school work goes it helps me when I'm playing a sport," he said. "After practice I know that I have to get right to work. It's much different than J-term when I have free time and just waste the day away."

Jokingly, Sales contemplated the possibility of playing a fourth sport: "I would want to play golf. I'm not good enough, but I'm working." And a fifth: "It would be really fun to play tennis too."