Seneca High School senior Sarah Hann embodies hard work during the fall, doing a number of activities as well as keeping her grades at Honor Society levels.
Hann finds her fall season pretty busy, juggling an athletic endeavor, field hockey and an artistic activity, marching band, while being a member of the Psychology Club, National Honor Society, high school choir and a National Anthem singer.
Hann is known to many as Troy Bolton from “High School Musical,” the athletic star player with a love for singing. She, like Bolton, is the star goalie of the girls field hockey team and is also a member of the Seneca marching band, playing alto saxophone during the fall. Through her love of both, she has had very different, but fun experiences.
“I like that (marching band) is the complete opposite of field hockey,” Hann said. “It is just a whole different experience, and I like that I can experience a lot of good memories and fun times with two very different groups of people.”
Hann has been playing field hockey since she was in first grade. She said because she was the tallest first grader, and also the only one brave enough, she was the one to put on the pads as goalie. Even though she isn’t the tallest anymore, at 5 foot 6 inches, ever since, she has loved to play the game in that position.
“I like the competitiveness and I like working as a team to strive for what we can do,” Hann said. “I like being a goalie, too. I’m kind of the quarterback and I control the defense.”
Hann brought her undefeated freshman year team to the championship and won in the final moments of the game. She said it was the end of the game, and there was a corner throw, which she saved and helped solidify the team’s victory. Last year, she also was a part of the varsity team that beat Cherokee High School for the first time in years, and believes the team could go to playoffs this year. Hann ranks as one of the top 10 field hockey goalies in New Jersey with the most saves.
The hardest part for Hann is during the pre-fall season, when she has field hockey practice from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then band practice from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. Even during the season, sometimes Hann doesn’t get home until 9 p.m., but she finds ways to do her homework to keep her grades up. She said it takes a lot of hard work, time management and coffee, but she is able to do both, as well as her other endeavors, with the help and support of her Seneca teachers, especially her field hockey coach and band director.
“In the beginning, it was really hard, but I’ve been doing this for three years, so I have adjusted; it is easy for me to switch from hockey mode to band mode,” Hann said.
Hann does not stop after fall. She said she continues with marching band until the end of the season, as it goes a little past fall, and does the high school musical in the spring. She also sings in choirs both in and out of school, and sings the National Anthem at many sporting events for Seneca.
Hann takes professional singing lessons and has auditioned for “American Idol” and “The Voice,” making it past multiple rounds, but not enough to audition for the celebrities, as she was told she was still a little too young.
“But it was cool, getting out there and seeing what the music business is like,” Hann said.
Hann is looking to play field hockey in college and wants to sing and be involved in her future college’s theater program. Although she doesn’t know what school she is going, she would like to major in speech pathology, aspiring to work with singers and children with autism, as her brother is autistic.
For now, Hann is focusing on helping her field hockey team win as well as helping the marching band have great success in her final year at Seneca.
“For the past two and a half months, except sleeping and weekends, I will practically live at Seneca. As it is my senior year, I feel like I have to make the best of it,” Hann said.
