"I first started skating when I was about 11 months old," Foley said. "I'm the youngest, so rather than get me a babysitter, my parents just put me on skates. I started playing hockey when I was about two or three."
Foley first became interested in playing hockey for the Big Green after her freshman year at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass. Foley's coach at Tabor, Holley Tyng, left to take an assistant coaching position at Dartmouth.
"Dartmouth is a little bit off the radar because everyone wants to go to Harvard," Foley, a South Boston native, said.
Foley's role on the team has evolved over the years, according to Dartmouth head coach Mark Hudak. As a freshman and sophomore, Foley was told "just to do her best," while as a junior and senior, she was asked "to be a leader and help others do their best," Hudak said.
"Her leadership comes from her ability to communicate with her teammates and show care for them and the program," Hudak said. "She tries to improve herself every day and pushes others to do so as well. She makes everyone else have to be a little more competitive and passionate."
Ali Winkel '14, who played on Foley's line for a good portion of the year, shared Hudak's sentiments.
"She's always been there for me, whether it's something with family or with hockey," Winkel said. "She wanted to push me and make me a better player when I was on her line."
Foley is "extremely team-oriented, stubbornly modest and extremely dependable," Moira Scanlon '12 and co-captain Reagan Fischer '12 said. Co-captain Jenna Hobeika '12 added that the team follows Foley's lead on the ice.
"Kelly's more the captain that leads by example," Hobeika said. "She plays with such a passion and a will to win that everyone feeds off of that."
Hudak and Foley's teammates agreed that Foley's passion for Dartmouth hockey sets her apart from her peers.
This dedication has led to success on the ice for Foley, who leads the team with 16 goals this year and is second in points with 27. For her career, Foley has 96 points off of 48 goals and 48 assists, indicative of her team-first mentality.
In a game against the University of Connecticut her sophomore year, Foley broke her ankle and missed a significant portion of the season. Not being on the ice proved difficult.
"She'd go into these spells of being in terrible moods where she'd just start crying," Scanlon said.
Foley rehabilitated the injury aggressively, however, and was able to return for the last weekend of the season, scoring a goal in her first game back.
"I got to see a new perspective on the game," Foley said. "I got to see from the perspective of people who don't get as much ice time and that helps you as a person understand everybody better."
Although Foley approached her rehab exercises with tenacity, she remained the same funny, laid-back individual she had always been, Fischer said.
Scanlon remembers during one practice, Foley and Larissa Roche '11, who was also injured at the time, convinced the trainers to let them take bubble baths in the ice tubs.
"I remember walking in, dead tired from practice, and seeing them with scented candles all over the place," Scanlon said.
Foley is a different person on and off the ice, her teammates said.
"She's really silly, but when we start playing, Game Kelly' comes out," Hobeika said.
Foley enjoys having fun off the ice, even if it means making a fool of herself. For example, Foley's Dartmouth ID photo shows her wearing "Harry Potter"-style glasses despite the fact that she does not need corrective lenses.
Foley's lighter side becomes evident during the team's pregame ritual, known as "The Wiggle." The tradition started with Roche, but Foley cannot remember why.
"The Wiggle" is a combination of dancing and singing involving Foley, Winkel and various other girls on the team, in which they spend some time before games "just acting like fools," Scanlon said.
Foley has been invited to two U.S. National Team camps during her career at Dartmouth. The roster for April's World Championships in Burlington, Vt. will be released next weekend, and Foley hopes that her name will be on the list.
"She may be the fastest skater in the U.S.," Hobeika said. "She's such a good all-around player that she can fill any role on the team."
Regarding her legacy at Dartmouth, Foley said she wants people to remember her not only for her play on the ice, but also for her demeanor off of it. "The most important thing people should remember is that hockey is fun, and people can lose sight of that sometimes," Foley said.
