Playing a single college sport is a challenge, but for Rae Alexander, a graduate of BFA-St. Albans (Class of 2024), it was a challenge she was ready to accept. Alexander played both hockey and lacrosse for UMass Boston, while also studying psychology with a minor in biology.
Alexander, who was an outstanding athlete at BFA-St. Albans plans to earn a master’s degree in speech and language pathology and aims to become a pediatric speech-language pathologist.
She closed the season with 18 goals and 11 assists for lacrosse and one goal and three assists in hockey.
Rae Alexander closed her freshman lacrosse season at UMass Boston with 18 goals and 11 assists.
Courtesy of UMass Boston Athletics
Q&A with Rae Alexander
What inspired your course of study? I want to work with kids, but I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher. I shadowed a speech-language pathologist at St. Albans City School and fell in love with the field.
It’s a great career that helps kids who need a little extra help. I’ve found I’m good at that, and I want to use that to help the community.
What did you enjoy about playing Lacrosse and hockey for UMass Boston? It was great to have the hockey season and meet all the people; then doing it again with lacrosse was great. Having two teams that you know you’ll have friends on was really helpful. Five of us played both sports, so that was really nice.
What was your biggest challenge playing two sports in college? We were strictly hockey until the season was over and then jumped into lacrosse with just one day off. That was a mental and physical challenge — ending one long season and picking up another. I wanted to keep going and playing, despite the difficulty in managing.
What was your most memorable moment from your hockey season? Scoring my first career goal at Bowdoin was most memorable. It was a close game, and it was awesome to score there. My teammates and my coach were really excited for me.
What was your most memorable moment from lacrosse? I had a really good last game of the season where I had seven points–three goals and four assists. I felt it was a culmination of my hard work. It was nice to leave it all out there for my last game.
Courtesy of UMass Boston Athletics
What did you learn from the pace of play in both sports this year? For hockey, the biggest difference was the game’s pace and the added element of physicality. The girls aren’t afraid to use their bodies. You need to prepare your body for that. That’s a big part of getting in the gym before the season. The change wasn’t that big for me in lacrosse. I played with Addie Hughes and Amber Poquette in high school, and that helped me. The pace wasn’t that different, but the technical skills –catching and passing–were more advanced than high school.
What did you enjoy most about the team environment in college? Both of my teams were close-knit, and we spent time together outside of practices and games. The upperclassmen were extremely welcoming. They helped get the freshmen comfortable. It’s a different feel than high school. You’re like a family, and you’ll have problems you have to work out. Our teams had excellent leadership, and we worked things out as adults, which I really liked.
How do you feel Comet hockey and lacrosse helped prepare you for college? My coaches in both sports gave me the confidence to play in college. You can have the skill, but without confidence, it’s challenging to achieve success. That belief in myself and my teammates had a very impactful effect on me, and I’ll carry it through the rest of my college career.
What was the greatest impact of the St. Albans community on your athletic career? It’s a close-knit community and everyone supports one another. When you go on to college, people still keep track of you and support you. It’s awesome to know you have a community to fall back on and have that support.
What are your goals for the coming season? This year, especially for hockey, I was an observer. I was trying to get the hang of things and see where my place was on the team. I’d like to take on more of a leadership role and make a more significant impact. I’d like to help the freshmen make the adjustment, since I know how much that meant to me.
Courtesy of UMass Boston Athletics
Do you have any wise words for athletes looking to play at the college level? If you love the sport and want to do it, it’s possible, but you need to work hard and do your research. If you want to play a sport, that’s great, but you should also consider picking a school that you’ll enjoy, whether you play or not. If you get to play a sport, that’s an added benefit. You need to put the work in to get there.
I never thought I’d play college lacrosse, as I started playing in my freshman year of high school, but I put in the work and was able to achieve my goal.
It’s important to be aware of the time commitment for the sport. You need to be in the best physical condition, and strength is a big part of success at the next level. I’d like to have known more about that going into college.
Thank yous: I want to thank my family. My parents came to quite a few games, which isn’t easy when I have two younger siblings. I really appreciate their support. I also thank my BFA-St. Albans’ coaches, Luke Cioffi for hockey and Mary Pipes for lacrosse, who helped me prepare for college. I would like to thank my college coaches, Moe Bradley for hockey and Hannah Khin for lacrosse, for giving me the opportunity to play.