Congrats to Hana Joerns on winning our August 2024 UCHealth Player of the Month award!
Hana plays goalkeeper for our Rapids 10GB NPL team and is considered by her coaches and teammates to be a great team player, always motivating the team with her commitment to her role and her kindness. While being responsible for the energy of the team, Hana prides herself on leading her team, always congratulating her teammates on success as well as giving them constructive feedback after tough matches or losses. Off the field, Hana volunteers at church in the nursery, mountain bikes, and plays basketball. At school, Hana serves as Historian of the National Junior Honor Society, is on the gifted and talented curriculum, and takes stats for basketball games throughout the season.
This September, Hana will be presented with a plaque and a gift card to acknowledge her achievements. We spoke with Hana to learn a bit more about her. Check out the full interview below!
What influence has soccer had in your life?
Soccer has taught me discipline, teamwork, and how to be tough. These things are applied to my life everyday weather it be at school, home, or in my friendships. Soccer is something I get to look forward to at the end of the day, because I get to be with supportive team/coaches, and I have a good way to work out any emotions from the day through training. It plays a huge role in my mental health as well.
Why do you believe that you were nominated for this award?
I believe I was nominated for the August 2024 UCHelath player of the month award because of the way I listen to my coaches, treat my teammates, and because of my hard work in school and soccer. As a goalie, I not only feel responsible for directing my teammates but also keeping their energy up, weather we are winning or losing. Its harder try to comeback when you are down points, but the energy on the field makes a huge difference. I congratulate my teammates when they do good, and make sure to be respectful when they need to fix something. This past season especially, I have been working hard to be a better goalie for my team and myself. I want to keep getting better and the only way to do that is work hard and stay focused in practice, so I always try to do that. A huge part of getting better is listening to my coaches, so when I am attentive and listening I will know what to do and coaches notice that.
What do you enjoy most about playing for Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club?
My favorite part of playing for Rapids is the Goalie Program. I not only get to meet people of all ages and teams, but I get to work with people who understand my position and therefor can help me improve. The goalie coaches are especially helpful to me in practice and on the field because they know my habits and how to correct them.
What soccer accomplishment are you most proud of?
The soccer accomplishment I am most proud of is making the girls 2010 NPL team this past year. I had never played full-time goalie before, and being chosen for my goal keeper skills for this team was a huge honor. I am proud of this because even when times were hard, I made sure to show up to practice and give it my all. A goal I wanted to achieve was to move up form select, so making the team was a big deal for me.
What academic achievement are you most proud of?
The academic achievement I am most proud of is not only making it into my middle schools National Junior Honor Society for my grades and characteristics, but also becoming Historian of the society. I am proud of this because it took a lot of courage for me to run for the position, and I believe while I was historian I made my fellow members feel included and needed. In this position I got to work in community service, and do things such as plan a fundraiser, read to little kids, and even paint our schools courtyard. Planning and doing all these things made me feel like a good person.
How do you think your teammates would describe you?
My teammates would describe me as energetic, supportive, kind, tough and unique. I pride myself in bringing good energy before, during, and after practice an games. I try to keep my teammates heads up after a loss, and make sure to get them hype before games. A lot of my teammates would say that my humor brings a lot of energy to the team as well. I always try to be supportive and kind during practices, especially when we have a new player or we all are learning something new. Trying out with a new team can be very scary, but when I was going through this process, I was always grateful for that one person who introduces themselves to you, so I always try to be that person to other people. My teammates can count on me to work my hardest and stay calm when pressures are high, and they will all tell you I will always get up after a hard hit.
What is something that shows your exemplary character, commitment to sportsmanship, community involvement, etc..?
A story that shows my character is when I had to fill in for a relay at my district track meet this past May. It was the day of the meet, and my coach pulled me out of class in the middle of the day to ask if I wanted to run the first leg of the 4X100 relay because the girl who was supposed to was injured. I said yes because I knew i was his first ask so therefor he was counting on me. I was super nervous because I didn’t want to let my team down, and the relay team had never lost. I was getting more and more nervous as we got closer to the meet, but I kept trying to focus on just running fast an giving it my all. The time finally came and me and three other girls lined up in our spots. The gun went off and I ran as fast as I could and then handed off my baton. I felt proud because I knew I did my best an our team ended up coming in second.
What’s your favorite soccer player and team?
My favoirte soccer team Is the San Diego Wave and my favorite player is Alyssa Naeher
What do you hope to pursue in the near future?
I hope to be a Physical Therapist or Nutritionist when I grow up.
Who inspires you and why? This can be someone famous or someone you know personally!
My old soccer coach (Coach Ashley) Inspires me because she is so hardworking and always has the best advice. She was a D1 soccer player at CU Boulder but now works with Bill Gates for Microsoft, and she not only has taught me where hard work can get you, but also how to have fun along the way. She is someone I will always look up to.
What else do you enjoy outside of playing for CRYSC?
Outside of soccer, I like to mountain bike, run read. I mountain bike competitively and I love to read mystery novels.
Since 2018, CRYSC and UCHealth + CU Orthopedics and Sports Medicine have worked together in an effort to grow the safety and health resources that are available for Rapids Youth players and members.
As our partnership strengthens with UCHealth, we want to work together to highlight the amazing players within the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club with a monthly ‘Player of the Month’. Check out the criteria and nominate any players that deserve to be highlighted by UCHealth and CRYSC on the UCHealth Player of the Month page.
