She's on two Division 1 teams at Boston College. How?

Last November, more than a dozen coaches, trainers, nutritionists, and doctors gathered in a conference room at Boston College to talk about one thing: What do they do with Emily Mara? The meeting showed just how unusual her situation is. Her coaches had to figure out how to keep her healthy, happy, and competing at a high level in two very demanding sports.

Mara grew up in Winchester, Massachusetts, and attended Phillips Academy in Andover. She was talented enough in both soccer and hockey that college programs recruited her for each sport. However, many schools said no to the idea of her playing both. Some coaches wanted her full attention, and others worried she might get hurt more easily by playing two sports.

Boston College was different. Women's soccer coach Chris Watkins and women's hockey coach Katie Crowley both wanted Mara on their teams. 'They were probably two of the most supportive coaches I've ever spoken to,' Mara said. Both coaches believed her skills and attitude were worth the extra planning it would take to make things work.

Playing two sports at this level is not easy to arrange. Only 45 schools in the country have Division 1 women's hockey programs, and most of those schools do not also have a top women's soccer team. BC's soccer team plays in the ACC, which is the toughest conference in the NCAA. The hockey team is also a strong program that competes in Hockey East every year.

Because her soccer scholarship pays for her education, soccer has to come first. Mara plays forward and is right in the middle of soccer season. She has scored four goals and added seven assists so far this year for the 9-2-1 Eagles. She practices only with the soccer team until its season ends in early November, then she switches over to hockey.

Joining the hockey team after it has already played ten games could cause problems with teammates. Coach Crowley had some conversations early in the season to make sure everyone was on the same page. But Mara's hockey teammates welcomed her right away, and she ended up recording three assists in 25 games during her first college hockey season.

Mara is so excited to compete that her coaches sometimes have to slow her down. At the big meeting last fall, she was asking for zero days off. 'She was lobbying all of us, saying she doesn't need a day off,' Watkins said. 'She just wants to go, and we're trying to get her to slow down.'

When her soccer season ended on October 30 last year, Mara spent the next seven days studying game film and skating as much as she could. She had already missed ten hockey games and did not want to miss any more. She made her college hockey debut on November 7, with less than a week of practice under her belt.

Some people might worry that playing two sports increases her chance of getting hurt. But soccer and hockey actually use different muscle groups. Running stresses the shins and knees, while skating is harder on the hips. Because of this, overuse injuries are not a big concern for Mara or her coaches. Watkins even noted that playing one sport all year long carries its own risks, calling Mara 'a unicorn.'

Mara herself does not seem to understand the idea of an offseason. 'I just don't know if I could picture what I would do with an offseason,' she said. 'Like, I'd have too much free time.' This summer, she also played for a team called Vermont Green FC in the USL W League, just to keep herself busy. For Mara, playing two sports is not a burden — it is simply who she is.