How Makenna Webster shines in both field hockey and ice hockey for Ohio State
For Makenna Webster, field hockey was just a hobby.
It was a sport introduced through her elementary school physical education class, one she found she had a knack for. Field hockey was the sport Webster found time for away from the ice, describing herself as an “ice hockey player who played field hockey.”
Field hockey is no longer just a hobby for Webster. She's a member of the team at Ohio State, and she is one of the Buckeyes’ primary offensive weapons and most electrifying players near the cage in the country.
But to Nadine Muzerall, Webster is still an ice hockey player who plays field hockey. It’s all the Ohio State women’s hockey coach can see: Webster’s stick handling skills and vision, using cut backs and toe drags to score on the field the same way she can on the ice, improvising, adapting and finding creative ways to put the ball in the back of the net.
It's not the way everyone else plays. But Webster is not looking to play field hockey like everybody else.
She is playing instinctively and naturally, developing a confidence in her second year with the field hockey program that has helped the St. Louis native not only balance the two Division I sports, but thrive in them.
“I just play how I know how to play," Webster said.
Webster returns to field hockey at Ohio State
Dave Webster didn’t think his daughter’s success would last.
Makenna’s focus was always on ice hockey: following in the footsteps of her brother McKade — a 2022 NCAA national champion with the Denver Pioneers — and playing on all-boys AAA hockey teams until joining Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota, in eighth grade, developing into one of the top players in her recruiting class.
That focus continued in college. She committed to Wisconsin and shined immediately, leading the Badgers to a national championship as a freshman in 2021 as the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player and recording 31 goals and 35 assists in two seasons.
But on the rare occasion when Makenna would return to field hockey, Dave didn’t see her miss a beat.
“I was always anticipating that from year to year, her abilities would diminish significantly to the competition,” Dave Webster said. “But it never really happened.”
Even after committing to the Badgers, Makenna said she had conversations with schools about playing both ice and field hockey, but instead kept her path, staying with the program she initially viewed as her “dream school.”
But after her second year at Wisconsin, ahead of the 2022 school year, Webster entered the transfer portal.
“I just think, at the end of the day, it just wasn’t a place for me,” Webster said. “But with that, I think I came to the realization that if I can play two sports, I think that would be an unbelievable opportunity.”
Muzerall didn’t think it would work and almost didn't recruit her.
Ohio State president Kristina Johnson − a former two-sport athlete in field hockey and lacrosse − and her wife, Veronica Meinhard, encouraged Muzerall, who herself had earned scholarships in both hockey and soccer when she was at Minnesota, to be open to Webster's path.
“The feedback pretty much was, as women in the athletic world, sometimes we struggle for opportunities as it is,” Muzerall said. “Don’t ever take away an opportunity for a kid to strive and be successful in two sports if they have the ability to.”
Webster tests balance in 2022 season
Ohio State field hockey coach Jarred Martin knew Webster's capabilities, having coached her on the USA junior national team. It was Martin, according to Muzerall, who saw Webster in the transfer portal initially, and he encouraged the Ohio State women’s hockey program to pursue her.
But questions remained for Martin heading into 2022 when Webster officially joined his roster.
“Honestly, it was just the unknown,” Martin said. “I’ve never had a two-sport athlete, especially back-to-back seasons. Just looking back, I wanted to make sure she was finding the right balance as well.
"I told her, ‘Any time you step on the ice or step on the field, (make sure) you are looking forward to it, you’re excited about it, you’re passionate about it.' I never want you to feel, ‘Gosh, I have to go to field hockey or I have to go to ice hockey.' "
Having played sparingly since she left for Shattuck St. Mary’s, Webster said her return to field hockey was “kind of like riding a bike.”
“A lot of things came back, like skill work, shooting, stuff like that,” Webster said. “I think at the college level, systematically it took a little bit to learn (and) understand because I hadn’t played at the college level. Things were a lot different than in high school or younger, so it took me a little bit to understand that and the way it worked."
In her first season with the OSU field hockey team, Webster had six goals and three assists in 19 games, connecting on only 20% of her shot attempts. It was a season she viewed as a transition, getting the “little things” back and working to keep up with teammates and opponents that have dedicated their lives to the sport.
In her first season with Muzerall's Buckeyes, Webster finished with 39 points — 15 goals and 24 assists — in 31 games.
Webster transforms into an offensive weapon for Ohio State field hockey
Heading into her second year with both Ohio State field hockey and ice hockey, Webster knew what to expect.
She said she devoted her summer to training for both teams, aiming to be in the best shape possible so she could be less focused on fitness and more focused on scheme.
While the emphasis of training for both field hockey and ice hockey may differ — with one emphasizing strength and size, and the other quickness and speed — Webster said the training is complementary, whether it’s improving change of direction and agility, or becoming stronger on shot attempts.
Martin sees Webster as a completely different player. Now, he said, Webster has the “freedom to be herself,” to be a voice and a spark and to use her confidence and aggressiveness to make plays she couldn't a season ago.
What Webster was learning last year, Martin said, now she knows. And her personality is shining through.
In 11 games, Webster has 34 points — including 14 goals and six assists — on 35 shots. She has 16 more points than any other player on the Ohio State field hockey roster. Webster averages 2.62 points per game, which is the sixth best of any player in the country.
“I can’t tell you the impact that she’s had within the program,” Martin said. “It’s helped push our level. I think the people around our practices, they see that. She’s obviously grown, but what she’s doing for her teammates, it’s like the cliche, ‘Great leaders make people around them better.’ That’s her.”
Webster: 'I love the grind. I love to work'
Considering what Ohio State field hockey is doing — winning nine of its first 11 games — Muzerall realizes she could be waiting longer for Webster than she did in 2022.
But even with a schedule filled with academics, field hockey and ice hockey, Webster made it clear she's not worried about burnout.
“I love the grind. I love to work,” Webster said. “At the end of the day, I want to be so successful in both because I want to play sports as long as I can. … Going to the rink, going to the field, that’s my outlet. That’s when I have the most fun.
“A lot of people are like, ‘You’re crazy. I don’t know how you do both.’ But I love it.”
Webster has one more season of eligibility — much to the chagrin of other Big Ten teams, Martin joked — and feels she has much more room to grow in both field and ice hockey.
Muzerall doesn’t know whether Webster will pursue a spot on Team USA in both field hockey and ice hockey, or just pick one. Either way, Muzerall said that’s not a question Webster should focus on now.
“I think the one thing she can control is just 'Hey, block out the noise … that’s like, oh I've just got to be good at both,’ ” Muzerall said. “Just be great at what you’re doing in the moment. Focus on that and see where it takes you."
Dave Webster can’t help but ask himself what could have been.
“I think of it maybe a little bit differently,” he said. “I think about, ‘Man, how good could she have been if she played field hockey all the time?' ”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Makenna Webster balances Ohio State field hockey and ice hockey
