麻豆社区

Jocelyn Wynnyk has a busy sports schedule these days.

The 19-year-old Yukoner, now in her second year at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, is playing two varsity sports this year.

Typically a hockey goaltender, Wynnyk is also playing fullback for the women鈥檚 soccer team.

Although, this past weekend in Olds, Alta., when the team needed someone to play net, she was the natural choice to step in and helped the Trojans to a 4-4 tie.

鈥淎t first, it was pretty tough adjusting to it because with soccer, you have 90 minutes of just running, running, running,鈥� Wynnyk said. 鈥淲hereas with hockey, it鈥檚 a 45-second sprint with a two-minute break.

鈥淚t took a bit of getting used to, but soccer is fun. I was a little rusty at first because I hadn鈥檛 played in a while. It鈥檚 tough, the girls on the team are really skilled and you have to fight for your spot.鈥�

Wynnyk isn鈥檛 the only female athlete playing two sports at SAIT this season. Her roommate, Cora Sutton, is also playing hockey and soccer.

The transition to playing both sports has been made easier by the fact that Wynnyk and Sutton live together, as it鈥檚 a life that very few can relate to.

Meals are made ahead of time in order to get out the door quicker, while a white board by their front door has each of their schedules on it.

鈥淲e鈥檙e huge supporters of each other,鈥� said Wynnyk before starting to laugh.

鈥淚 know this sounds bad, but once or twice a week we鈥檒l get an ice cream cone after practice and we just pull in, sit in the driveway, turn the car off and sit there.

鈥淥nce we just sat there for 20 minutes and ate our ice cream in silence because we were so tired. Just mentally and physically exhausted.鈥�

Both athletes admit that playing both sports wouldn鈥檛 be possible if not for the support of their head coaches 鈥� soccer鈥檚 Grant Stevens and hockey鈥檚 Terry Larson.

They express gratitude towards both coaches for being open-minded about playing two sports, as they know some days they鈥檙e not able to give their best to one or the other depending on how things are scheduled.

At the end of their very long days, when their bodies are tired, and they鈥檙e asking themselves what exactly have they gotten themselves into, they remind each other that they are doing what very few post-secondary student-athletes have ever done.

And that makes the pain hurt just a little bit less.

鈥淣ot many people get to say they played two college-level sports, and have been successful in each of them,鈥� said Wynnyk proudly.

鈥淛ust the fact that I get to do that is incredible.鈥�

By BRODY鈥圡ARK
Special to the Star