American hockey | Grass or ice? Ohio States Webster does both

By the time she was seven years old, Makenna Webster knew what a stick felt like in gloved hands, what the cold air felt like on her lungs when she was tired, and the sounds her skate blades made over a sheet of ice. She grew up playing ice hockey because her cousin and older brother played. And from a young age, Makenna knew that ice hockey was something she wanted to do for a long time. But a year later, during gym class, she discovered a new passion for hockey: field hockey.

One day during gym class, my teacher was coaching hockey at Gateway in Saint Louis, and during gym class we were playing and she told me I had a lot of potential.

From then on, Makenna grew to love the two sports and dedicated herself to excelling in both.

When Makenna entered high school, she knew she wanted to play hockey in college, and Wisconsin was her top choice. She even left high school in Missouri to attend boarding school in Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault. Minn., where she could focus on hockey. The only caveat for both the boarding school and Wisconsin: they didn't have a hockey team.

Makenna's time as a Badger was beyond exceptional. In her freshman season, she played in all 21 games, helped her team to an NCAA National Championship and was named the Frozen Fours Most Outstanding Player. But after two years of playing hockey in Wisconsin, Makenna felt like the hockey chapter of her life was not yet closed. So she entered the transfer portal.

I really wanted to go to Wisconsin, that was actually my first choice. And then I went on for two years, and then I thought about it a little bit, and I realized that if I had the opportunity to play both sports, I should try to take it. And from there I went into the portal and looked at a few schools, and then decided Ohio State was the right place.

Now a graduate of Ohio State University, Makenna has done well both on the field and on the ice for the Buckeyes. She is currently captain of the hockey team and assistant captain of the ice hockey team. Last fall, the hockey team finished 14-6, posting its most wins in a season since 2010. Makenna led the team in points (47) with 17 goals and 13 assists. In March of this year, the ice hockey team defeated Wisconsin to win the national title, with Makenna being named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.

As many student-athletes know, there is a lot of balance and time management involved in being both a successful student and an athlete. For Makenna, time management is something she has learned well, and the support system at Ohio State makes it possible to balance it all.

The resources Ohio State has given me, and my great coaching staff and athletic trainers, have allowed me to be successful and balance both sports. I can't practice more than four hours a day, so the Athletic Director, trainers, coaches and other staff members have done a great job of helping me with that.

Because the ice hockey and field hockey seasons overlap, there are many moving parts that help Makenna play and succeed in both. Depending on the itinerary, a typical weekend in October can include two hockey games and an ice hockey match.

I would say I'm really focusing on recovery. I just feel like our athletic trainers have been so great, and there's so many resources at Ohio State like a float tank and Normatec, but it's hard on the body to play the three games, but I feel like I've done well a lot this year. I'm starting to get used to it.

One thing that becomes clear after speaking with Makenna, even briefly, is her unwavering can-do attitude. Whether on the ice or on the turf; in the classroom, training room, library or wherever she is, Makenna gets it done.

While Makenna leads her hockey team in the stat book and is a key contributor on the ice, she is also a team player and has learned how to connect with her teammates on both ends even if she can't always be there.

The main thing that's difficult is that in both sports I can't always be there for everything – and it's just hard not to be there. I always want to be there with everything, so I think sometimes it's hard for me to miss those moments with the teams.

Despite this, Makenna noted the joy she experiences when she is part of two different teams.

I have made so many friends and met such wonderful people. It's incredible to see how different they are in such amazing ways, and I've enjoyed connecting both hockey and ice hockey players together, which has been great.