How Jamie Ortega’s inquisitive nature played role in her impressive UNC lacrosse career

A coloring book accompanied former UNC lacrosse player Jamie Ortega on game trips during her last season playing for the Tar Heels. Her sister bought her the book for Christmas, and the winner of the 2022 Honda Award — awarded annually to the top women’s lacrosse player and female athletes in 11 other NCAA sports — colored the various cities the UNC lacrosse team visited last season.

Even though the 2022 national champion was committed to being the best lacrosse player she could be during her time in Chapel Hill, she made time to explore new hobbies.

“I just love learning new things,” said Ortega, now an inside sales representative for the New York Mets. “I think that’s why I’ve grown so much as a player by just being able to learn and wanting to learn as well.”

Growing into a leader

Ortega is the first five-time All-American in UNC history. Each Carolina team she was part of was unique, which she said benefited her, providing her an opportunity to learn different skills from her teammates. Ortega has a particularly close bond with her former UNC teammate Katie Hoeg, whom she met in grade school when they played on a summer lacrosse team together. Hoeg — a four-time All-American and three-time All-ACC player — trained with Ortega during the offseason.

“We trained with this man named Mark Russell,” Hoeg recalled. “He worked with me and Jamie both, and we just got close from spending all this time together.”

Ortega said she learned a lot from observing Hoeg.

“She’s always inspired me to push myself, and you know, she was always a great captain, a great leader,” Ortega said.

The two hung out together; they played together and together they were named 2020 Co-National Player of the Year.

Though Hoeg wasn’t on the team last season, Ortega reached out to her friend to gauge her thoughts.

“I’d ask, ‘How do you think I played?’ I feel like I played bad that game,” Ortega remembered asking. “How does the team look?”

The questions weren’t anything new for Hoeg. She’s accustomed to Ortega’s hunger to improve. She cares about the team and their performance.

“I think that’s really the primary reason of why people respected her so much,” Ortega’s teammate Emma Trenchard, who also lived with her, said. “We’re able to be motivated easily by her because she just was like such an awesome and openhearted person to anyone that was on our team.”

Curiosity away from lacrosse

After being the self-described ‘baby on the team,’ Ortega added more leadership responsibilities to her plate during her final three seasons in Chapel Hill. No longer responsible for just her role on the team, she had to check the pulse of the team, and be the voice that reverberated throughout the team when challenging situations arose.

As she adjusted to holding the captaincy, Ortega allowed herself to take a step back.

“Whatever I did in practice for the two-and-a-half hours, or game shoot-around, like, that’s my all right there. Then after that, I’m just going to be a normal person,” Ortega said.

The ability to separate allowed Ortega to maintain her status as the best player in women’s lacrosse — and her team’s leader — while balancing the rest of her life.

“She would always go for like 20-minute walks,” Trenchard said, “with her earplugs and listening to her favorite music.”

Trenchard lauded Ortega for her ability to care for herself, and her knack for finding new hobbies.

“I remember we would joke like when we first moved into our house she would cook the same thing for dinner, and we’d be like every day it was broccoli, sweet potato, and, like, chicken. ‘Don’t you get sick of that?’” Trenchard asked, laughing.

“Eventually, she started to expand and tried to make other things. That was kind of impressive to see.”

No matter the activity, Ortega has a hunger to improve constantly. When the coloring book first arrived at their house, Trenchard asked her why she wanted it. Ortega responded, “I want to give it a try and see if I like it and it helps me.

“I just always feel like I can be a better version of myself,” Ortega added. “I want to keep growing and learning who I am because I’m only 23. I have so much to learn about myself, but I think it’s exciting.”