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Cross training
Multiple sports in same season manageable for Keene State student-athlete
Multiple sports in same season manageable for Keene State student-athlete
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By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Keene State College’s Breanne Lucey aspires to become an elementary school teacher. If the way she schooled cross country and soccer opponents this past fall is any kind of indication, she’s made a wise career choice.
Defying the adage “you can’t have your cake and eat it, too,” Lucey successfully balanced not only cross country and soccer in the same season, but also school and work obligations.
Lucey began her collegiate career as a track and field student-athlete at the University of Connecticut. Two years later, she transferred to Keene State for the chance to run track and play soccer. During her first year at the college, she did just that. Cross country wasn’t even on the radar.
She said she enjoys challenging herself, though, and proving that she can accomplish what others can’t.
“I keep getting personal records at each meet, and that keeps me going. If I can do this — how far can I go? What’s my max-out point?” she said.
Not surprisingly, once Lucey learned that cross country training would help increase her strength and reach her potential, she was willing to try it. But she wasn’t ready to give up soccer, a game she had loved since she was 5 years old. So she made the decision to do both.
“Ultimately my goal was to do well in running. Soccer is more for fun,” she said. “Running is fun, but by the same token, it is my best sport so I wanted to do whatever I could to excel at it. That involved doing cross country. But I didn’t want to give up soccer.”
Despite a firm personal belief that to play she had to practice, Lucey said she knew she might have to make some adjustments. In the end, she and her coaches reached a middle ground where she was on hand for half of each day’s soccer practice before heading for the entire track practice.
Adjustments also had to be made in the case of conflicting competition dates, a clash that most often occurred on Saturdays. Lucey appeared in all of the Owls’ home soccer matches but missed a handful of away contests due to track obligations. She also missed a couple of track meets to compete in critical soccer games.
On a few occasions, Lucey did double duty on the same day. One morning she won the Keene State Invitational in cross country by 28 seconds. Her time of 17:59 helped the women’s squad secure its first victory in the meet since 2003. After breezing through a four-mile cool down, Lucey joined her soccer teammates and scored a goal in a 3-2 overtime victory over Plymouth State University. The standout performances earned Lucey some ink in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated.
In addition to balancing practices, meets and matches, she also juggled academic demands during the day and work obligations most evenings from about 5 o’clock until midnight.
“In a weird way, they were actually cross training for each other,” said Lucey. “Toward the end, it got a little hard, but I managed.”
As it happens, Lucey did more than just manage. A regular starter at midfield, she on more than one occasion played the entire game, contributing three goals, two assists and eight points on the year. Meanwhile, she was often near the front or leading the pack in cross country, registering three first-place finishes, including at the Little East Conference/Alliance Championship, and a second-place finish at the NCAA New England Regional.
While she admits to a couple of days when her varied demands over-extended her energy supply, she said doubling up was tougher mentally than physically with the stress of work and school on top of competing. In the end, though, it made her stronger.
Currently competing as an individual and serving as an assistant coach for the Owls, Lucey expects to return to the track next year. She is not as sure whether she will attempt to compete in dual sports during the same season again, though she said the experience was worth it.
“I would recommend it because it allows people to see what it feels like to be in a team situation and in individual competition,” she said. “That’s a great thing.”
Lucey is a double major in elementary education and psychology. In addition to teaching, she hopes to coach at the high school level someday.
Defying the adage “you can’t have your cake and eat it, too,” Lucey successfully balanced not only cross country and soccer in the same season, but also school and work obligations.
Lucey began her collegiate career as a track and field student-athlete at the University of Connecticut. Two years later, she transferred to Keene State for the chance to run track and play soccer. During her first year at the college, she did just that. Cross country wasn’t even on the radar.
She said she enjoys challenging herself, though, and proving that she can accomplish what others can’t.
“I keep getting personal records at each meet, and that keeps me going. If I can do this — how far can I go? What’s my max-out point?” she said.
Not surprisingly, once Lucey learned that cross country training would help increase her strength and reach her potential, she was willing to try it. But she wasn’t ready to give up soccer, a game she had loved since she was 5 years old. So she made the decision to do both.
“Ultimately my goal was to do well in running. Soccer is more for fun,” she said. “Running is fun, but by the same token, it is my best sport so I wanted to do whatever I could to excel at it. That involved doing cross country. But I didn’t want to give up soccer.”
Despite a firm personal belief that to play she had to practice, Lucey said she knew she might have to make some adjustments. In the end, she and her coaches reached a middle ground where she was on hand for half of each day’s soccer practice before heading for the entire track practice.
Adjustments also had to be made in the case of conflicting competition dates, a clash that most often occurred on Saturdays. Lucey appeared in all of the Owls’ home soccer matches but missed a handful of away contests due to track obligations. She also missed a couple of track meets to compete in critical soccer games.
On a few occasions, Lucey did double duty on the same day. One morning she won the Keene State Invitational in cross country by 28 seconds. Her time of 17:59 helped the women’s squad secure its first victory in the meet since 2003. After breezing through a four-mile cool down, Lucey joined her soccer teammates and scored a goal in a 3-2 overtime victory over Plymouth State University. The standout performances earned Lucey some ink in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated.
In addition to balancing practices, meets and matches, she also juggled academic demands during the day and work obligations most evenings from about 5 o’clock until midnight.
“In a weird way, they were actually cross training for each other,” said Lucey. “Toward the end, it got a little hard, but I managed.”
As it happens, Lucey did more than just manage. A regular starter at midfield, she on more than one occasion played the entire game, contributing three goals, two assists and eight points on the year. Meanwhile, she was often near the front or leading the pack in cross country, registering three first-place finishes, including at the Little East Conference/Alliance Championship, and a second-place finish at the NCAA New England Regional.
While she admits to a couple of days when her varied demands over-extended her energy supply, she said doubling up was tougher mentally than physically with the stress of work and school on top of competing. In the end, though, it made her stronger.
Currently competing as an individual and serving as an assistant coach for the Owls, Lucey expects to return to the track next year. She is not as sure whether she will attempt to compete in dual sports during the same season again, though she said the experience was worth it.
“I would recommend it because it allows people to see what it feels like to be in a team situation and in individual competition,” she said. “That’s a great thing.”
Lucey is a double major in elementary education and psychology. In addition to teaching, she hopes to coach at the high school level someday.
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