Dartmouth Dual-Sport Athlete Jenna Donohue Thrives in Hockey, Lacrosse

Jenna Donohue doesn’t stop.

A two-sport athlete, Donohue is excelling in both ice hockey and lacrosse at Dartmouth.

This past season on the ice, Donohue finished second on the Big Green in scoring, posting eight goals and six assists. Their season ended on Saturday, February 18, at Brown. After a day off on Sunday, Donohue immediately jumped into lacrosse on Monday.

Following a long five-month season, the thought of that would sound awful to some, but not Donohue.

“I believe my drive ultimately comes down to the love of the sports,” Donohue said. “I have purpose, and with no time to do anything else, it makes me so much more focused. With schoolwork, I may have an hour to do work, so I know that I have to get it done.”

Donohue gets it done in so many aspects of her Dartmouth career … and life. Succeeding in all areas isn’t as easy as she makes it look.

Playing two sports in college had been on Donohue’s mind for some time.

“I didn’t want to give up a sport,” she said. “There weren’t really opportunities at many other schools to do both hockey and lacrosse. It’s definitely uncommon.”

Donohue saw an opportunity in the Ivy League for a multitude of reasons.

“Being at Dartmouth has definitely helped; our seasons are shorter than other schools,” she said. “We don’t start hockey until October, whereas other schools are starting in September. Same with lacrosse. We start February 1, whereas other schools might start earlier.”

Donohue was being recruited for hockey before she could even get recruited for lacrosse.

“I was trying to go to a place where I could play both without officially being committed for lacrosse too,” she said.

After Donohue’s freshman year at her public high school, she attended Loomis Chaffee School, a prep school in Connecticut where she played both sports.

“I decided to go to a school that was playing every day to help get committed for hockey,” she said. “Once I got there, I was so homesick and really did not want to be there, but once hockey season started, I ended up falling in love with the school. Everyone around me was so supportive. I still talk to my coach today.

“Loomis reminds me a lot of Dartmouth; Dartmouth is just a bigger version of Loomis. The people, the staff, the sports … everything is very similar. The experience at my prep school was also super helpful in my transition.”

The Dartmouth hockey and lacrosse coaches ended up liking what they saw. Although there are now different head coaches in place for both sports, Liz Keady Norton (hockey) and Alex McFadden (lacrosse) have been extremely understanding.

First and foremost, Donohue focuses on hockey season, so lacrosse is affected the most (in terms of missing offseason workouts and the start of preseason). Thankfully for Donohue, McFadden came to Dartmouth from Boston College. While there as an assistant, McFadden coached Kenzie Kent, who was another hockey and lacrosse dual athlete.

“Coach McFadden said, ‘When you’re in hockey, you’re all-in with hockey,’” said Donohue. “’And then once you’re in lacrosse, you’re all ours.’ Fortunately, we also have the same strength and conditioning coach for both sports, Schuyler Harting, which is really helpful with the transition. It has definitely been smoother than I had anticipated.”

The transition may have been smooth, but it hasn’t been easy. The two sports are quite different in terms of training.

“Each sport uses different muscle groups,” Donohue said. “The only things I can think about that are pretty similar is the wrist strength. We do a lot with wrist strength in training. But for hockey, it’s more about your quads, while for lacrosse, it’s more about your calves. It’s completely different movements.”

Lacrosse can also bring a pounding on one’s knees not experienced on the ice.

“In hockey, there’s no pressure on your knees,” Donohue said. “The last couple weeks of hockey, I would go on some jogs that definitely helped accustom my muscles to running.”

Hockey conditioning includes some running, but more biking and on-ice conditioning.

“On the ice, we do all-out sprints for 45 seconds, then you have a three-minute reset [mimicking shifts in a game],” Donohue said. “After lacrosse, it takes me a couple days to remember how to skate and remember how to get in shape for hockey.”

Donohue has emerged on the lacrosse field as a key member of a Dartmouth team that has won three straight Ivy League games, most recently beating Princeton in a thriller, 15-14. The Big Green enter Saturday’s regular season finale at No. 14 Penn in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings.

Dartmouth is hoping for a top-four seed and return trip to top-seeded Penn for the Ivy League tournament.

Donohue is one of many reasons the Big Green are in the position they’re in. She has posted seven goals and six assists, including one stretch of five consecutive games with multiple points. She is also third on the Big Green in draw controls (25) and fifth in caused turnovers (7).

“Those stats are generally attributed to a player’s ability to hustle,” McFadden said. “While she has grown a lot offensively as one of our feeders, I would say one of her biggest roles on this team is to make hustle plays. She makes the little plays that ultimately make a huge difference for our team.”

Team is an important word when thinking of Donohue. One challenge of playing two sports is finding that chemistry and cohesiveness with both groups of teammates. It’s a challenge Donohue has risen to in a meaningful way.

“Whether it’s in practice or during a game, Jenna goes all-out in order to find success for her teammates,” McFadden said. “Her energy is infectious, and she will make plays during a game that gets everyone excited, whether it be winning a draw control or causing a turnover in the ride.”

You would think Donohue may not feel as close to her lacrosse teammates as she does hockey, since she spends less time with them over the course of a year. But that’s not the case. Not one bit.

“I actually live with lacrosse girls, and next year, we’ll have a house with 13 of us,” Donohue said. “That definitely helps in the offseason, being able to live with them and still keep in touch with everyone. And I try my best to hang out with them in the fall and winter.”

Come late winter, when the lacrosse team is gearing up for the season, Donohue is winding down hockey.

“They’ve already been practicing for two months together,” she said. “At first, I was scared to come in, but everyone was so welcoming. It’s just a great group of girls, and the coaches are so accommodating.”

Due to NCAA regulations, Donohue cannot partake in lacrosse activity until she makes that transition from hockey. But she puts herself in the best position to succeed, and it’s showing on the field — both on the stat sheet and with intangibles.

“When Jenna cannot partake in lacrosse activity, she does a great job of keeping up her friendships with her teammates,” McFadden said. “Chemistry is important in any sport, so to make sure she is developing her relationships off the field makes the transition that much easier.

“Jenna is a natural athlete and competitor, so when she joins us for lacrosse season, we do our best to ease her back — to make sure her body is mentally and physically ready before throwing her in the mix. We want to slowly build her endurance back up.”

It’s safe to say Donohue has learned to adapt.

“It’s about not only being able to adapt, but also seeing what I like in different groups of people,” she said. “I would consider both sets of teammates my best friends, but they’re different people. It’s nice to see what the world has to offer, not keeping myself confined in one group.”

It’s not just the lacrosse and hockey teammates Donohue is referring to.

“I feel like I know so many more people by having connections on both teams,” said Donohue.

With one year still remaining, Donohue is focused on finishing this season on a high note — then doing it all again next year for one last ride.

“I’m trying to leave the Dartmouth jersey better than I found it, trying to pave the way for future generations of girls,” she said. “There’s a girl coming in next year who’s actually planning on playing hockey and lacrosse. I’m hoping to be a mentor for her and instill confidence in others that they can do it, they can push themselves and they can be a great student, athlete and person.”

Donohue is all those things, and more, due to her inner drive combined with her surroundings at Dartmouth.

“If you don’t love the sport, or you don’t love your teammates and coaches, that’s when it’s not possible to give your all every single day,” she said.

Luckily for Donohue, she loves all those things. And because of it, she’s making her mark in so many ways.