Emily Van Diepen, Mount Allison University

Women’s Hockey & Soccer

For many young athletes, choosing just one sport to focus on is one of the toughest decisions of their childhood. The Mount Allison Mounties’ Emily van Diepen found a way around this, she simply never chose.

Playing soccer in the summer and hockey in the winter for most of her childhood and high school years, one of the many draws of MTA for her was the promise that she would be permitted to try out for both teams.

This was important to the versatile athlete who had spent her past three years at Ridley College, a prep school in St. Catharine’s, Ont., mastering an impressive juggling act of academics, soccer and hockey.

“When I was younger, coaches were always telling me that it was time to choose one sport. But I could never make up my mind,” she remembers. “I didn’t feel any pressure from the Mounties to choose one sport or the other.”

She tried out for and made both varsity teams.

Van Diepen’s soccer coach, Barry Cooper, describes her as having, “a remarkable personality that sees her liked by everybody,” and that, not surprisingly this has a positive effect on team spirit.

Oddly enough, van Diepen says there are definitely parallels in way she plays soccer and the way she plays hockey. In soccer, “despite being defense, I still like getting shots on net and playing a little more offensive,” she says. “The same can be said in hockey. I think of myself as an offensive defenseman.”

Currently pursuing a bachelor of science in biology, van Diepen says she eventually sees herself, “working in either a research lab or a hospital as a doctor or a specialist.” But at 19 years old, she admits it’s tough to know what lies ahead professionally.

Her more immediate goals include helping both her teams get to the playoffs and perform well.

“These are definitely attainable goals for us,” she says.

In her rookie year with Mount Allison, van Diepen was named to the AUS all-rookie team in hockey and was also named the Mounties’ rookie of the year.

Getting to know Emily van Diepen:

Do you have an early memory about playing soccer or hockey and learning to love these sports?

“I grew up with four older brothers that all played hockey. When Spencer, who’s 16 months older than me, started playing I wanted to go with him. That year we played squirts together and the following year we went out on the ice for the first time. I ended up going to the wrong end and I was so upset because I thought I wasn’t going to be allowed to play hockey that year.”

Tell us one thing you think your friends, teammates and fans might not know about you.

“I help out on my dad’s dairy farm when I come home, either milking cows or driving the tractor.”

Coach Cooper’s favourite memory of Emily, on or off the field?

“Emily starting her first game, being involved in a clash of heads within [her first] three minutes that left her covered in blood, having to get a number of stitches and missing the next three games!”

Follow Emily on Twitter: https://twitter.com/emilyvandiepen