Very few athletes at Deerfield hold the title of tri-varsity captain, and Hannah Insuik ’13 is one of them. In addition to excelling at her fall and spring sports of volleyball and softball, Insuik is also known for tearing up the ice on the Girls Varsity Hockey team.
First stepping onto a rink at the age of five, Insuik has been playing goalie since she was 9. She said that she “only waited so long because my parents refused to allow me to be a goalie,” adding, “I always knew I would be a goalie, the tricky part was getting my parents to admit it as well.”
Insuik has committed to play hockey next year at Colby College. “When I started my college search,” she said, “I subconsciously knew that I wanted to play hockey in college, even though I looked at some schools that didn’t have hockey. I even made up excuses to my mom when we visited schools like UVA, that it “smelled funny” or “was too southern.” I think I really just knew I needed to be near a rink. I am so relieved, and excited to be playing at Colby next year, because I honestly can’t imagine my life without hockey.”
Hockey is more than a sport for Insuik, and she described how “I don’t think I could pinpoint my favorite thing about hockey. There is just something about the feel of the ice under my skates that I can’t even describe. I feel more comfortable, more at home, in front of that net than I do anywhere else. Of the 10 plus sports I have tried in my childhood, hockey is the one that has stuck with me, and really touched me. I play because I love it.”
Insuik described how, “hockey players are notorious for being extra superstitious, and I in particular cannot play unless I do things in a certain way. While getting dressed, I must put my left skate and leg pad on before my right. I must listen to the same three songs before every game.”
With triumphs such as winning “the state tournament once, the annual Waterville tournament once, and [being] the top goalie at the college exhibition camp [she] attended this summer,” Insuik is clearly a rising star in the hockey world.