Hampton tackled this challenge by easing into her freshman year and not running cross country in the fall so that she could get to know the ski team better. Come spring, she joined the track team, and easily found a spot in both communities.

“You have to prioritize,” Hampton said. “You have to make the extra time to see the people [on the team that isn’t in season] and keep your place on that team and stay a part of that atmosphere.”

Meyer considers both of his team communities “irreplaceable” aspects of his college life. Switching from the 40-person men’s lightweight crew team to the 15-person coed Nordic ski team provides him with social variety.

“They’re both awesome environments but really different,” Meyer said. “That yin and yang works really well for me in terms of the social world.”

With all the physical, academic, and social challenges that come with playing a varsity college sport, why would anyone choose to play two? For Hampton, this answer is easy.

“I’ve always known that athletics are one of my favorite things in life,” Hampton said. “The sacrifices are worth it to me because I’ve gotten such a community out of it and I’ve gotten such amazing experiences from it. I really love it.”

—Staff writer Isabel Delaura can be reached at idelaura@college.harvard.edu.